Distracted driving — Illinois Permit Test

Illinois law prohibits using a handheld cellphone, texting or other electronic communications while driving, and allows hands-free devices or Bluetooth for people aged 19 and older.

A phone in your hand is a hand off the wheel and eyes off the road. Nineteen is the age at which Illinois allows even the hands-free version.

Illinois law prohibits the use of handheld cellphones, texting, or using other electronic communications while operating a motor vehicle. Hands-free devices or Bluetooth technology is allowed for persons age 19 and older.

Holding a cellphone and using the speaker phone does not count as hands-free and is a violation of Illinois law.

Plenty of drivers think the speaker makes it legal. The offense is the phone in the hand, not the sound coming out of it.

Using a cellphone while holding the device and using the speaker phone is not considered hands-free and is a violation of Illinois law.

Watching or streaming live video, joining a video conference, or opening a social media site on a cellphone while driving is a violation of Illinois law.

A video takes the eyes off the road completely, not just a glance. Illinois names the applications so nobody can argue about which ones count.

Watching or streaming a live video, participating in any video conferencing application, including, but not limited to, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Webex, or accessing any social media site, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or X on a cellphone is also a violation of Illinois law.

Illinois law prohibits headsets while driving, although a single-sided headset or earpiece used with a wireless or cellphone device is permitted.

Covering both ears removes the horn, the siren and the train you cannot see. One ear left open is the line Illinois draws.

Illinois law prohibits the use of headsets while driving. Headsets are defined as any device, other than a hearing aid, that allows a person to hear or receive electronic communications. Using a single-sided headset or earpiece with a wireless/cellphone device is permitted while driving.

The only times an Illinois driver may use a cellphone that is not hands-free are to report an emergency, while parked on the shoulder, or while stopped in obstructed traffic with the vehicle in neutral or park.

Each of those is a moment when the car is not moving or the call is the emergency. Anything else and the phone waits.

The only time you can use a cellphone that is not hands-free is: • To report an emergency. • While parked on the shoulder of a roadway. • While stopped due to normal traffic being obstructed, and the vehicle is in neutral or park.

A driver whose distracted driving causes a crash with a vehicle, a bicyclist, a pedestrian or any other road user may face criminal penalties and incarceration.

A text that ends in a crash stops being a traffic ticket. Illinois says plainly that jail is on the table.

If you are in a crash with a motor vehicle, bicyclist, pedestrian, or any road user caused by distracted driving, you may face criminal penalties and incarceration.

From what age may an Illinois driver use a hands-free device while driving?

19 years old. A phone in your hand is a hand off the wheel and eyes off the road. Nineteen is the age at which Illinois allows even the hands-free version. Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.22: “Illinois law prohibits the use of handheld cellphones, texting, or using other electronic communications while operating a motor vehicle. Hands-free devices or Bluetooth technology is allowed for persons age 19 and older.”