Transportation 3

Several states have passed laws that limit or prohibit cell phone use while driving.  A chart compiled by the Governors Highway Safety Association outlining state cell phone and text messaging laws is available at
 http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html. 

Though many motor carriers are now familiar with state laws related to distracted driving, additional caution is warranted to the extent some municipalities may also impose restrictions that are even more stringent than state laws. For example, Mike Tauscher of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C. - Detroit reports a Troy, Michigan, ordinance prohibits any type of "distracted driving."  The ordinance defines “distracted driving” to include driving while (1) texting (modeled after the state law), (2) talking on cell phones, and (3) other common distractive behaviors, including, but not limited to “eating, reading, writing, performing personal hygiene/grooming, physical interaction with pets, passengers, or unsecured cargo, any of which is done in a manner that prohibits the driver from maintaining direct physical control of the motor vehicle steering mechanism with at least one hand that is free of all other objects and used entirely to form a controlled grip on the steering mechanism."