6 Things Georgia’s Hands-Free Law Still Tickets Drivers For
Hands-free doesn’t mean ticket-free, and Georgia’s law reaches your cell phone habits that feel harmless.
A first offense does come with a way out, if you know to use it.
Here are the hands-free rules that still gets Georgia drivers ticketed, and what you’re still allowed to do behind the wheel.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Traffic laws and penalties are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Georgia Department of Driver Services.
1. Holding or Supporting a Phone
The Hands-Free Georgia Act, effective July 1, 2018, bans holding a phone while you drive on any highway in the state.
The ban covers supporting a phone with any part of your body.
A stand-alone electronic device falls under the ban.
The law defines it as a device, other than a phone or other wireless device, that stores audio or video files to play on demand.
2. Texting and Emailing
The hands-free law bans writing, sending or reading a text message, instant message or email while you drive.
It exempts a voice message that your phone automatically converts into written form, so dictating a reply is allowed.
Navigation is the one exception built into the ban.
A phone mount isn’t listed.
3. Scrolling Social Media
The hands-free law bars you from writing, reading or sending social media content, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Navigation is the exception, so your map can stay on.
You don’t have to type a word to earn a ticket.
Reading is enough.
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4. Watching a Video or Movie
The hands-free law bans watching a video or movie on a phone or stand-alone electronic device while you drive.
Navigation is the one exception built into the ban.
A video citation costs up to $50 for a first conviction, the same as any other violation of the law.
If you're charged with watching a video, the first-offense dismissal for holding charges doesn't apply to you.
5. Recording or Broadcasting Video
The hands-free law bans recording or broadcasting video on a phone or stand-alone electronic device while you drive.
Only a device you use solely for continuous recording, such as a dash cam, is exempt.
The ban names broadcasting as well as recording.
6. Extra Buttons in a Commercial Vehicle
The hands-free law adds two rules if you drive a commercial vehicle.
You can't use more than a single button on a phone to start or end a voice call.
You can't reach for a device in a way that takes you out of your seated driving position or out of your safety belt.
How Fines and Points Rise
The hands-free law sets a fine of up to $50 for your first conviction.
A second conviction can cost up to $100.
A third or later conviction can cost up to $150.
Points rise too.
You get one point for a first conviction, two for a second and three for a third or later.
How the Hands-Free Fine Ladder Counts
The hands-free fine ladder counts convictions and no-contest pleas from the previous 24 months.
A new conviction with nothing on your record in that window starts back at the first-offense fine.
Prosecution costs and added surcharges can't be tacked onto a hands-free fine.
The First-Offense Dismissal
The hands-free law gives you one way out of a first holding charge.
You can show the court a device that would let you comply in the future, or proof that you bought one.
You're then found not guilty.
You have to affirm that you haven't used that option before.
How Citations Break Down
Georgia's hands-free law gives officers three charges to write.
They're failure to exercise due care, using a wireless device in a regular vehicle and using a wireless device in a commercial vehicle.
Each violation of the law counts as a separate offense.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety reported 588 citations for holding or supporting a device in July 2018, the law's first month.
The tally had 65 citations for texting and 244 for failing to exercise due care.
The hands-free law requires you to exercise due care on the state's highways.
The due-care charge bars any action that distracts you from driving safely.
Drivers Covered
The hands-free law covers any individual who operates a motor vehicle on a highway in the state.
If you drive a regular vehicle, the ban applies to you at any age.
If you drive a commercial vehicle, the two extra rules above apply to you.
What Counts as a Device
The hands-free law defines a wireless device as a cell phone, portable phone, text-messaging device, personal digital assistant, stand-alone computer, global positioning system receiver or similar portable wireless device.
If you drive with a citizens band radio or ham radio, it isn't a wireless device under the law.
Commercial two-way radios and prescribed medical devices are excluded too.
The same exclusion covers your car's built-in security, navigation and remote diagnostics systems.
Allowed Uses
The hands-free law still lets you take voice calls through an earpiece, headphones or a smartwatch.
That exemption covers voice communication only.
A speakerphone or your vehicle's built-in connection works for calls too.
You can listen to streaming music, but touching your phone to start or program the app while you're on the road is banned.
You can use your phone to report a crash, a fire, a medical emergency, a crime or a serious road hazard.
The bans stop applying when your vehicle is lawfully parked.
Law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel on official duty are exempt.
So are utility workers responding to a utility emergency.
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