§ 46.2-818.2 Use of handheld personal communications devices in certain motor vehicles; exceptions; penalty
A. It is unlawful for any person, while driving a moving motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth, to hold a handheld personal communications device.
1. The operator of any emergency vehicle while he is engaged in the performance of his official duties;
3. Any person using a handheld personal communications device to report an emergency;
5. The operator of any Department of Transportation vehicle or vehicle operated pursuant to the Department of Transportation safety service patrol program or pursuant to a contract with the Department of Transportation for, or that includes, traffic incident management services as defined in subsection B of § 46.2-920.1 during the performance of traffic incident management services.
C. A violation of this section is a traffic infraction punishable, for a first offense, by a fine of $125.
D. A violation of this section is a traffic infraction punishable, for a second or subsequent offense, by a fine of $250.
E. If a violation of this section occurs in a highway work zone, it shall be punishable by a mandatory fine of $250.
F. For the purposes of this section: “Emergency vehicle” means:
1. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties;
2. Any regional detention center vehicle operated by or under the direction of a correctional officer responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;
3. Any vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly owned state forest warden vehicles, when traveling in response to a fire alarm or emergency call;
4. Any emergency medical services vehicle designed or used for the principal purpose of supplying resuscitation or emergency relief where human life is endangered;
5. Any Department of Emergency Management vehicle or Office of Emergency Medical Services vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;
6. Any Department of Corrections vehicle designated by the Director of the Department of Corrections, when (i) responding to an emergency call at a correctional facility, (ii) participating in a drug-related investigation, (iii) pursuing escapees from a correctional facility, or (iv) responding to a request for assistance from a law-enforcement officer; and
7. Any vehicle authorized to be equipped with alternating, blinking, or flashing red or red and white secondary warning lights pursuant to § 46.2-1029.2. “Highway work zone” means a construction or maintenance area that is located on or beside a highway and is marked by appropriate warning signs with attached flashing lights or other traffic control devices indicating that work is in progress.
G. Distracted driving shall be included as a part of the driver’s license knowledge examination.
History
This law was first created in 2020. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 250 and 543 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 2023, chapters 557 and 558.
2020, cc. 250, 543; 2023, cc. 557, 558.