Cellphone While Driving Ban Considered in New Hampshire

A New Hampshire Senate panel is holding a hearing next week on a measure to ban the use of hand-held cellphones while driving.

The House-passed bill also bans all cellphone use by minors behind the wheel. The bill doesn’t apply in an emergency.

The ban would apply while drivers are stopped temporarily, such as at a red light, but not if they have pulled over and stopped off the road.

The bill allows the use of hands-free electronic devices, devices that are integrated into the vehicle, and non-cellular 2-way radio devices.

State law currently bans only typing and sending text messages while driving but does not prohibit reading text messages, surfing the Internet, dialing cellphones or programming GPS devices while driving.

The hearing takes place on Thursday.