Georgia’s Hands-Free Act & Distracted Driving Law
The Hands-Free Act bans holding the phone at all — not just texting. It sets the fines; a separate statute sets the licence points. Both matter after a crash, for different reasons.
What Is Actually Prohibited
Georgia’s Hands-Free Act took effect in 2018 and replaced the state’s earlier texting and teen-driver bans, which are now repealed. The current prohibitions live in O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241(c), and the first is broader than most drivers realise:
| Prohibited | Cite |
|---|---|
| Physically holding or supporting a phone or electronic device with any part of your bodyAn earpiece, headphone, or wrist-worn device for a voice call is expressly allowed. | § 40-6-241(c)(1) |
| Writing, sending or reading any text-based communication — texts, instant messages, email, internet dataVoice-to-text and navigation/GPS use are excluded. | § 40-6-241(c)(2) |
| Watching a video or movieWatching navigation data is excluded. | § 40-6-241(c)(3) |
| Recording or broadcasting videoContinuously-running dash cameras are excluded. | § 40-6-241(c)(4) |
The law is not only about phones. § 40-6-241(b) requires a driver to exercise due care and “not engage in any actions which shall distract such driver from the safe operation”of the vehicle. That reaches eating, grooming, reaching into the back seat and turning to talk to passengers — conduct no device ban would cover, and a live basis for liability in a crash.
Fines and Points Come From Two Different Statutes
This trips up almost every summary of the law. A conviction is a misdemeanor, and § 40-6-241(f)(1) caps the fine — but it says nothing about licence points. Those are set by the point schedule at § 40-5-57(c)(1)(A)(xv)–(xvii).
| Conviction (within 24 months) | Fine — § 40-6-241(f) | Points — § 40-5-57(c) |
|---|---|---|
| First | up to $50 | 1 point |
| Second | up to $100 | 2 points |
| Third or subsequent | up to $150 | 3 points |
The 24-month window runs from the date each earlier conviction was obtained, or each earlier nolo contendere plea accepted, to the date of the current one. Notably, § 40-6-241(f)(1) also bars the court from taxing the costs of prosecution and from adding anyfurther penalty, fee or surcharge for the offence — unusual in Georgia traffic law, and worth checking against what a court actually assessed. Fifteen points in any 24-month period suspends the licence.
The One-Time First-Offender Provision
§ 40-6-241(f)(2) is usually described as the court having discretion to dismiss a first ticket. It is not discretionary. A person appearing on a first charge who produces in court a device, or proof of purchase of a device, that would allow them to comply in future “shall not be guilty of such offense.”
Two limits are easy to miss:
- It is available once. The court must require the person to affirm they have not previously used the privilege.
- It reaches only the holding prohibition in subsection (c)(1). It does not apply to a charge for texting, watching video, or recording video.
The Four Exceptions
§ 40-6-241(g) disapplies subsections (c) and (d) where the conduct occurred:
- While reporting a traffic accident, medical emergency, fire, an actual or potential criminal or delinquent act, or a road condition causing an immediate and serious traffic or safety hazard
- By a utility services employee or contractor responding to a utility emergency within the scope of employment
- By a public safety first responder — law enforcement officer, firefighter, EMS personnel, ambulance driver or similar — performing official duties
- While in a motor vehicle that is lawfully parked
“Lawfully parked” does not mean stopped. Sitting at a red light, waiting in a queue of traffic, or halted in a travel lane is not parked, and the prohibitions still apply. This is the most commonly misunderstood exception in the Act.
Stricter Rules for Commercial Drivers
§ 40-6-241(d) adds two prohibitions that apply only to drivers of commercial motor vehicles, on top of everything in subsection (c). A CMV driver may not:
- Use more than a single button on a wireless device to initiate or terminate a voice communication
- Reach for a device in a manner requiring the driver to leave a seated driving position, or to no longer be properly restrained by a safety belt
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules on mobile device use apply separately, carry their own penalties for both driver and carrier, and can put a carrier’s safety rating at issue. In a crash involving a commercial vehicle, both bodies of rules are worth pleading — and the carrier’s own policies and telematics records are usually more probative than either. See our Georgia truck accident page.
What a Violation Is Worth in an Injury Claim
A citation is a criminal matter between the driver and the state. Its value to an injured person is evidentiary: breach of a safety statute can establish negligence per se, meaning the breach of duty is shown by the violation itself rather than argued from what a reasonable driver would have done. How that is actually proved is a separate question — see distracted driving accident claims.
That is a real advantage, but it is not the case. Causation and damages still have to be proved, and the other driver’s conduct is still measured against yours under Georgia’s modified comparative negligence rule, where 50% fault bars recovery entirely.
Phone records are the proof, and they do not keep. Carrier logs, in-vehicle infotainment data and the device itself are what establish use at the moment of impact — not the officer’s impression. Carriers purge records on their own retention schedules, and a preservation demand has to go out early to be worth anything. That is one of the few things in a claim that genuinely cannot be fixed later, and it sits well inside the two-year filing deadline.
Related Services & Resources
This page explains the statute. These cover how a distracted-driving crash is actually proved and valued.
- Georgia Distracted Driving Accident LawyerHow we prove phone use, and why the records will not wait
- Georgia Car Accident LawyerFull-service representation for Georgia auto accident claims
- Distracted vs. Drunk Driving PunishmentBlog: why comparable conduct carries very different penalties
- Comparative NegligenceHow shared fault reduces or bars a Georgia claim
- Georgia Statute of LimitationsThe two-year deadline and what pauses it
- Distracted Truck Driver AccidentsBlog: where federal carrier rules add defendants and evidence
- All Georgia Accident LawsStatute-grounded reference for Georgia crash claims
Georgia Hands-Free Law FAQs
What does Georgia’s Hands-Free Act actually prohibit?
What is the fine for violating Georgia’s hands-free law?
How many points does a Georgia hands-free violation put on your license?
Can a first hands-free ticket be dismissed in Georgia?
Is using GPS or navigation allowed while driving in Georgia?
When does the hands-free law not apply?
Are the rules different for commercial drivers in Georgia?
How does a hands-free violation affect a Georgia injury claim?
Hit by a Distracted Driver?
Phone records prove what a police report only suggests — and carriers purge them on their own schedule. The sooner we start, the more there is to find. Free consultation.