Phones and texting — Alabama Permit Test

Alabama law prohibits using a wireless device to write, send or read a text message, instant message or e-mail while driving.

Reading or typing takes your eyes off the road for seconds at a time, and at highway speed that is the length of a football field.

Alabama’s new law prohibits using a wireless device to write, send or read a text message, instant message or e-mail while operating a motor vehicle.

The fine for texting while driving is $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second and $75 for a third or later, and each offense puts a two-point violation on your record.

Points add up toward a suspension, so a texting habit can cost the license itself.

The fine for violating the law is $25 for a first-time offense, $50 for a second offense and $75 for a third or subsequent offense.

If you use a cell phone while driving, remember your first responsibility is driving: place calls when stopped or have a passenger call, use a hands-free device, and pull off the road to dial or finish a conversation.

A phone call splits your attention, so the safest calls are the ones made while the car is not moving.

Pull off the road to dial or complete a conversation.

Avoid intense, emotional or complicated phone conversations, and avoid talking on the phone in congested traffic or bad weather.

A hard conversation takes your mind off the road even when your hands are free.

Avoid talking on phone in congested traffic or bad weather.

What does Alabama's texting law forbid while you drive?

Writing, sending or reading a text message. Reading or typing takes your eyes off the road for seconds at a time, and at highway speed that is the length of a football field. Alabama Driver Manual, p.32: “Alabama’s new law prohibits using a wireless device to write, send or read a text message, instant message or e-mail while operating a motor vehicle.”