Nevada Texting/Hand-Held Cell Phone Use Law

Nevada has joined the ranks of states banning texting and hand-held cell phone use while driving. As of January 1st, 2012 fines are $50 for the first offense in seven years, $100 for the second and $250 for the third and subsequent offenses. Fines are subject to doubling if the offense occurs in a work zone. The first offense is not treated as a moving violation for DMV and insurance purposes.

You can talk using a hands-free headset and, while making voice calls, touch the phone to “activate, deactivate or initiate a feature or function on the device.”

Other exceptions include:

• Any person reporting a medical emergency, a safety hazard or criminal activity.
• Drivers using a voice-operated navigation system affixed to the vehicle or those riding in autonomous vehicles.
• Drivers using citizen band or other two-way radios that require a license and have a separate, handheld microphone.
• Law enforcement officers, firefighters or emergency medical personnel acting within the scope of their employment.
• Utility workers responding to an outage or emergency and using devices provided by the company.
• Amateur radio operators providing communications services during an emergency or disaster.

For more information, visit the Governors Highway Safety Association or the Nevada DMV.