Cell phones — Connecticut Permit Test

Hand-held cell phones and mobile electronic devices may not be used while driving on any public highway in Connecticut.

A phone in the hand takes one hand off the wheel and most of the mind off the road at the same time.

Hand-held cell phones or mobile electronic devices may not be used while operating a motor vehicle on any public highway.

The ban also covers a vehicle temporarily stopped for traffic, road conditions, or a traffic sign or signal.

A stopped car in a lane of traffic is about to move, and a driver looking at a screen is the one who does not.

State law also prohibits using these devices when a vehicle is temporarily stopped because of traffic, road conditions or a traffic control sign or signal.

You may use a cell phone or mobile electronic device when parked safely on the side or shoulder of a highway.

Off the travel lane you are no longer part of the traffic, which is what the rule is protecting.

You may use your cell phone or mobile electronic devices if parked safely on the side or shoulder of a highway.

A driver aged 16 or 17 may not use any type of cell phone or mobile electronic device, including a hands-free one.

A hands-free call still takes the mind off the road, and a beginner has the least attention to spare.

drivers who are 16 or 17 years of age are not permitted to use any type of cell phone or mobile electronic device, including a hands-free device

A mobile electronic device includes a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant and a paging or text-messaging device.

The rule is about screens, not about phones. Swapping the phone for a tablet changes nothing.

A “mobile electronic device” includes a laptop computer, personal digital assistant or paging or text-messaging device.

A driver of any age may use a device in an emergency, to contact an emergency operator, a hospital, a doctor's office, a health clinic, an ambulance company or the fire or police department.

Calling for help is the one use that makes the road safer, so the law leaves it open to everybody.

The exceptions to this requirement, where a cell phone or mobile electronic device may be used, by a driver of any age, is an emergency situation, when contacting an emergency response operator

A conviction for violating the cell phone law suspends the license of an operator under the age of 18.

For a teen the phone is not a fine, it is the license. That is the whole weight the state puts behind the rule.

If an operator is under the age of 18, a conviction for violating the cell phone law will result in a license suspension.

What does Connecticut law say about a hand-held phone while driving?

It may not be used on a public highway. A phone in the hand takes one hand off the wheel and most of the mind off the road at the same time. Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.13: “Hand-held cell phones or mobile electronic devices may not be used while operating a motor vehicle on any public highway.”