Can you send a text message at a red light? What Ohio law says
Stop at any red light in Mahoning Valley and you’re likely to see at least one driver with a phone in their hand.
While drivers know distracted driving is a no-no, what does the law say about using your phone when your foot is on the brake?
Distracted driving
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving can be anything from adjusting your radio to calling your mama. People have been known to read, eat, scold children in the backseat, put on make-up and go live on TikTok.
But more than 32,000 people in the U.S. died in crashes involving distracted drivers from 2014 to 2023. The statistics are worse for drivers between the ages of 16 and 24.
From 2018 to 2022, more than 60,000 crashes in Ohio involved distracted drivers, according to the law office of Plevin and Gallucci.
If you think you can multitask, you’re wrong. Your brain doesn’t work that way. According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, “instead of processing both cognitive tasks at once, the brain rapidly switches between the two activities.”
Drivers can miss seeing up to 50% of their environment, a phenomenon MDOT calls “inattention blindness.”
Tips for safe driving
The NHTSA recommends:
Pulling over to send or receive text messages,
Appointing one of your passengers as the “designated texter” to handle all of your texts, and
Storing your phone in your trunk before you get behind the wheel.
One thing the NHTSA does not recommend is using a handheld phone at a red light or stop sign. In fact, many states can pull you over for it.
According to Ohio’s law on texting and driving, it is illegal to write, send or read a text message using a handheld device in a moving vehicle. Facetiming or acessing, reading or posting to social media is also against the law.
Law enforcement can pull any vehicle over if a cell phone is seen in the driver’s hand. The driver does not need to commit a primary traffic violation like speeding, using the phone is considered a primary offense.
Can you text at a red light or stop sign in Ohio?
Ohio has a partial ban on using hand-held cell phones while operating a vehicle. If you are over 18 years old, you are allowed to use a hand-held device if it is voice-operated or can be activated and deactivated with a single swipe or tap.
Ohio law also says it is OK to use a cell phone while sitting at a red light or stop sign.
If your next road trip crosses state lines, play it safe. Nearly every state has its own version of the law. And at least a dozen states have stricter guidelines than Ohio. For instance, Georgia’s language would definitely result in a ticket if you text at a red light. Phones are not allowed to touch any part of your body while you are behind the wheel. The exceptions include parked cars, but also say stops at red lights or stop signs are fair game.
Montana still holds to the wild west mentality. As of April, 2025, there are no bans on the books for handhelds, texts or inexperienced drivers using cells.
What if there’s an emergency?
Being stopped at a red light is not the only exception to Ohio’s distracted driving law. Other exceptions include:
- Making an emergency call
- First responders (law enforcement, firefighters and EMS) using a phone while in the line of duty
- While stopped on the side of the road
- While parked on a road or highway due to an emergency or road closure
- Holding a phone near a person’s ear as long as nothing is typed into the device
- Receiving emergency traffic and weather alerts (provided the person does not hold the phone)
- Using a speaker phone (provided the person does not hold the phone)
- Using a single touch or swipe, as in to end a call
What happens if you’re caught?
Penalties for texting are as follows:
- On your first conviction in a 24-month period, two points on your driving record and a fine of up to $150
- On your second conviction, three points and a fine up to $250
- On your third and following convictions, four points, a fine up to $500 and a 90-day driver’s license suspension
Drivers can avoid fines by taking a distracted drivers course. Texting in a construction zone will double the fines.
