Even before all this talk in Washington about a nationwide ban on texting while driving, a number of States already had legislation on the books.

The Governers Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has an up-to-date list of the laws in each State related to texting while driving, cell phone use while driving, and handsfree laws. 

Current state cell phone driving law highlights include the following:

• Handheld Cell Phone Bans for All Drivers: 6 states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington), the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from talking on handheld cell phones while driving.
  • With the exception of Washington State, these laws are all primary enforcement—an officer may ticket a driver for using a handheld cell phone while driving without any other traffic offense taking place.
• All Cell Phone Bans: No state completely bans all types of cell phone use (handheld and hands-free) for all drivers, but many prohibit cell phone use by certain segments of the population.
  • Novice Drivers: 20 states and the District of Columbia ban all cell use by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: In 16 states and the District of Columbia, school bus drivers are prohibited from all cell phone use when passengers are present.
• Text Messaging: 17 states and the District of Columbia now ban text messaging for all drivers.
  • Novice Drivers: 9 states prohibit text messaging by novice drivers.
  • School Bus Drivers: 1 state restricts school bus drivers from texting while driving.
• Preemption Laws: 8 states have laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from enacting restrictions. In 6 other states, localities are allowed to ban cell phone use.
• Some states, such as Utah and New Hampshire, treat cell phone use as a larger distracted driving issue.
  • Utah considers speaking on a cellphone to be an offense only if a driver is also committing some other moving violation (other than speeding).

Next time you're driving past a truck on the highway check to see if he/she is texting.  A recent in-cab study of truckers by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute showed the risks associated with texting is greater than previous thought.  They found that when the drivers texted, their risk of collision was 23 times higher than when not texting.

The primary reason?  The time the drivers take their eyes off the road to text.  In just 5 seconds, the typical time spent looking at the device, a lot can happen when travelling at speed on a busy highway. 

So even though texting is not illegal in all States, think twice about it next time you need to send a text, and consider voice texting to ensure your eyes stay on the road.