Phones and distraction — Indiana Permit Test

Phones and distraction on the Indiana permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Indiana law bars using a phone or other telecommunications device while driving unless it is hands-free or you are calling 911 in an emergency.

Holding a phone takes your hand off the wheel and your eyes off the road at the same time.

The only exceptions to this prohibition are when hands-free communication is enabled or if the telecommunications device is being used to contact 911 for a bona fide emergency.

Indiana Driver's Manual, p.45

Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for about five seconds, which at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field blind.

A few seconds sounds short, but at highway speed the car covers a long way while you are not looking.

Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds.

Indiana Driver's Manual, p.45

Distracted driving is any activity that takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel, or your mind off driving.

Eating, texting and fiddling with the radio all count, because each one pulls part of your attention away.

Distracted driving is any activity that takes your eyes off the road, hands off the steering wheel, or your mind off of driving.

Indiana Driver's Manual, p.45

Using a hand-held device while driving costs 4 points on your driving record.

Points add up toward penalties, so a phone habit can cost you your license over time.

Violation for hand-held device 4 points

Indiana Driver's Manual, p.21

On the test

When may you use a phone while driving in Indiana?

When it is hands-free, or to call 911 in an emergency. Holding a phone takes your hand off the wheel and your eyes off the road at the same time. Indiana Driver's Manual, p.45: “The only exceptions to this prohibition are when hands-free communication is enabled or if the telecommunications device is being used to contact 911 for a bona fide emergency.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Indiana Driver's Manual, published by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-03.