EAGAN, Minn. –  A majority of Americans say using your cellphone while driving is ok, as long as it is being used in hands-free mode. That’s the finding of a new survey from FindLaw.com, the most popular free legal information website.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia only allow cellphones to be used while driving when they are in hands-free mode.  Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia restrict cellphone use by novice drivers. Ten states have no restrictions on cellphone usage for making calls while driving.  

According to the FindLaw survey, a majority of Americans (50%) support allowing cellphone use while driving, as long as they are used hands-free. Forty-two percent, however, support a complete ban on cellphone use while driving. Only eight percent said they favor having no restrictions on cellphone use while driving.

The survey results show the percentage of Americans who support restrictions on cellphone usage while driving:

• Hands-free-use-only while driving 50%
• Complete ban of cellphone use while driving 42%
• No restrictions on cellphone use while driving 8%

“Laws on using cellphones while driving vary from state to state,” said Stephanie Rahlfs, attorney-editor at FindLaw.com. “So it’s important to know the applicable law in the state where you are driving. This is particularly important because cellphone laws are primary enforcement laws, meaning an officer can issue a citation for illegal use of a cellphone without any other traffic offense taking place.”

Free information on traffic tickets, including information on avoiding traffic tickets, types of traffic tickets, how to fight a ticket, and a searchable directory for finding an attorney, can be found at http://traffic.findlaw.com/traffic-tickets.html

The FindLaw.com survey was conducted using a demographically balanced survey of 1000 American adults and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percent.

Note to editors: Full survey results and analysis are available upon request.

FindLaw
FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters, is a leading provider of business development solutions for small law firms. Through its team of legal marketing experts, FindLaw drives the industry by delivering a comprehensive portfolio of proven online and offline marketing solutions designed to connect law firms with targeted prospective clients. FindLaw is also home to the largest online directory of lawyers and FindLaw.com (www.FindLaw.com), the most popular legal website with more than six million people visiting each month for free information about a legal topic, to solve a legal problem or to find a lawyer.

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CONTACT

Alex Cook 
FindLaw
Tel: +1 651 687 6319
Email: alex.cook@thomsonreuters.com