What you need to know about texting and driving laws in Illinois: As of July 2019, if you are using your cellphone, texting, or using another electronic device while driving, you are in violation of Illinois law. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), cellphone use while driving accounts for 1.6 million crashes per year. In 2018 alone, 2,841 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving or caused directly by distracted drivers.
Part of the growing problem is that most drivers do not realize just how dangerous checking a text really is while driving. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. While driving at 55 miles per hour, you will drive the length of a football field in that amount of time. Now, imagine blindly racing across a football field with other people on it — an obvious danger that no one would willingly do.
Illinois Cell Phone Laws
It is illegal to use your cellphone while driving in Illinois. The only times you are permitted to use your cell phone is:
- To report an emergency situation
- While parked on the shoulder of a roadway
- While stopped due to normal traffic being obstructed and the vehicle is in neutral or park
