Hey Maine, You’re Still Breaking the Law By Doing This While Driving

Texting and Driving

For a couple of decades now, in most states, texting and driving laws have been put in place.

According to the National Library of Medicine, it was back in November 2001 that New York became the first state in the country to prohibit the use of a cell phone while driving, with several states following suit over the years.

Maine Hands Free Driving Law

Back in September 2019, according to Maine.gov, the hands free driving law instituted throughout the state,

...prohibits you from holding any electronic device not part of the operating equipment of the motor vehicle, unless specifically exempted.

But wait, there's more.

Maine Texting and Driving Law

In that same law listed on Maine.gov, when it comes to specifically texting and driving,

Texting while driving is illegal. You may use voice to text to send and listen to messages. If your phone doesn’t have that feature, you must pull off the public way, find a safe place to park, compose the message, and send it.

This all seems pretty common sense at this point in time, right? Sure, except for the loophole drivers think they found, but at the end of the day, would still get nailed for.

Windshield Mounts

Day after day, more and more drivers are installing windshield mounts inside their vehicles with the purpose of having their phone in their line of sight while they drive. Technically, legal, since, once mounted, drivers (ideally) will have their hands on the wheel and not their phone.

However, when it becomes illegal, and this is seen regularly no matter what Maine road you're on -- a major highway like the Turnpike or 295, a heavily populated major roadway like Route 1, or even side streets -- is when the driver starts scrolling through their phone.

Regardless of whether the phone is mounted or not, if you're scrolling through your phone, mounted or not, while driving, there's no Maine police officer that will say, "Oh, well, it was mounted, so you're good!"

In fact, this writer once got pulled over picking up his phone off his passenger seat for a quick 3-second check of the GPS so he knew where to turn -- the same 3-seconds he unknowingly was driving by a police officer who saw that action happen.

Just remember, mounted or not, if you're playing with your phone, you're breaking the Maine hands free law and will be hit with differing fines, which are listed on Maine.gov.

Like the state law says -- one text or call could wreck it all. Be safe and smart out there.