Is Texting While Driving Illegal in Arizona?

Texting while driving is illegal in Arizona under A.R.S. § 28-914, the state's hands-free law.^[1]

Since January 1, 2021, no driver may hold or manually use a wireless device while operating a vehicle on an Arizona street or highway.

That covers texting, browsing, scrolling, typing, and watching video, and it covers talking on a handheld phone.

Hands-free mode, voice commands, and mounted devices are the legal alternatives.

An officer can stop and cite a driver for the violation itself, with no other offense required.

For crash victims, the law matters for a second reason, because proof that the other driver was on the phone is some of the strongest fault evidence an Arizona injury claim can carry.

Hit by a distracted driver? Call (888) 713-6653 for a free case review.

What A.R.S. § 28-914 Prohibits, Allows, and Fines

The statute bans two things: physically holding or supporting a wireless device with your body while driving, and writing, sending, or reading any text-based communication behind the wheel.

Before 2021, Arizona banned texting only for school bus drivers and drivers under 18. The current law reaches every driver on every Arizona road, and it changed the state's baseline: a hand holding a phone in traffic is now a violation in itself.

What remains legal: a device used in hands-free mode, an earpiece or wrist-worn device, a phone mounted and operated by voice, GPS navigation that does not require holding the device, and a single touch or swipe to start or end a call. Calling 911 to report an emergency is always permitted, and first responders using devices within their duties are exempt.

Fines run $75 to $149 for a first offense and $150 to $250 after that. The ticket is modest. What the violation does to a civil case after a serious crash is not, and where a violation causes serious injury or death, separate criminal exposure can follow.

Why a Hands-Free Violation Strengthens Your Injury Claim

When a distracted driver causes a crash, the hands-free law works for the injured person in two ways.

First, the violation is evidence of fault. Arizona law lets a jury treat the breach of a safety statute as showing the driver failed the duty of care every motorist owes. A citation issued at the scene, a phone in the footwell, a witness who saw the glow: each one anchors the argument that this crash came from a choice, and the phone records turn that argument into a timeline.

Second, Arizona follows how Arizona splits fault between drivers under A.R.S. § 12-2505.^[2] Fault is assigned in percentages, and every point pushed onto the other driver is money returned to you. Proof the other driver was on the phone moves points, which is why the insurer will fight harder over the phone evidence than over almost anything else in the file.

The flip side deserves a plain statement. If there is evidence you were using your own phone, expect the adjuster to build the same argument in reverse. Your recovery survives under pure comparative fault, but the percentage fight becomes a two-front one. Do not hand the insurer that material by guessing about your own phone activity in a recorded statement.

How Phone Records Prove the Other Driver Was Texting

Nobody admits to texting at the scene. The case is built from records:

• The citation. Phoenix PD, Scottsdale PD, Arizona DPS, or the local agency can cite the driver under the hands-free law at the scene, and that citation becomes an exhibit.
• Carrier records. Cell phone usage logs, obtained through subpoena, timestamp every call, text, and data session. Matched against the crash time in the police report, a message sent seconds before impact tells the story on its own.
• The phone itself. App activity, screen-on time, and keyboard input can survive on the device long after the carrier logs thin out.
• Witnesses and video. Passengers, nearby drivers, and intersection or business cameras that caught a head down at the wheel.

Timing decides how much of this survives. Carriers purge usage data on their own schedules, and video overwrites in days. Our Arizona accident lawyers statewide send the preservation demands and subpoenas early, while the proof still exists.

If you were hurt, get examined even if you feel fine, at Banner University Medical Center, Valleywise Health, or the nearest ER, and see a doctor within 72 hours. The medical record and the phone record together are the spine of a distracted driving case.