Even touching your phone while stopped at a red light can now get you fined with new law

Louisiana drivers face new fines in 2026

Louisiana started ticketing drivers for holding a phone behind the wheel on Jan. 1, 2026.

The law, House Bill 519, was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry in 2025 and written by Rep. Brian Glorioso, a Republican from Slidell. Officers spent the second half of 2025 issuing warnings only.

Now the warnings are over, and the fines are real.

The law bans more than just texting

Most people know texting while driving is illegal, but this law goes further.

It bans holding a phone for any reason, including talking on speakerphone, scrolling social media, watching a video, or recording. The ban covers any public road in Louisiana.

It applies even when a driver is stopped at a red light or sitting in traffic.

Drivers can still use phones hands-free

The law does not ban phones entirely. Drivers can make and receive calls through Bluetooth, voice commands, or a phone mounted on the dashboard.

A wrist-worn device like an Apple Watch also counts as hands-free under the law. Drivers can still call 911 to report an emergency or a crime in progress.

Using a phone is also allowed when the driver is legally parked or pulled off the road.

Fines depend on where the stop happens

Where a driver gets pulled over matters a lot under this law.

In school zones and highway construction zones, holding a phone is a primary offense, meaning an officer can pull someone over for that alone. The fine in those zones runs up to $250.

Outside those areas, it is a secondary offense, and the fine drops to up to $100.

Primary vs. secondary: what the difference means

A primary offense lets an officer stop a driver for that violation alone. A secondary offense works differently.

Officers can only write a ticket for phone use if they already pulled the driver over for something else, like speeding. In Louisiana, holding a phone only counts as a primary offense in school and construction zones.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission explains the primary vs. secondary offense structure and fine amounts on its traffic safety laws page.

That distinction was a key compromise that helped the bill pass after years of failed attempts in the state legislature.

A crash doubles whatever fine applies

Getting into a crash while breaking the hands-free law makes things more expensive. The fine doubles, which means up to $200 outside school and construction zones and up to $500 inside them.

The investigating officer must note on the accident report that a wireless device was in use at the time of the crash.

Judges can reduce fines if a driver completes up to 15 hours of community service, with at least half of those hours going toward a litter abatement program.

The law limits what officers can search

Lawmakers built search protections into the law. Under the enrolled text of House Bill 519, officers cannot seize, search, or view a driver’s phone based only on a secondary offense violation.

They also cannot search the vehicle, the driver, or any passenger based solely on the phone violation. Officers cannot make a custodial arrest on a secondary phone offense alone unless a warrant is already open.

Those protections were a major reason the bill finally cleared the legislature.

Louisiana ranked third for distracted driving

Distracted driving rates pushed lawmakers to act. Louisiana ranked third in the nation for distracted driving in a 2024 cell phone usage analysis.

The state has also carried some of the highest auto insurance premiums in the country for years.

Glorioso said other states with hands-free laws saw insurance rates drop between 6% and 10%, though that claim has not been independently verified.

The law requires state police to submit an annual report to the legislature on crash data and law impact, broken down by region.

Emergency workers and others get a pass

The law carves out exemptions for several groups. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel acting in their official duties are not covered by the ban.

Drivers reporting a collision, medical emergency, or serious road hazard are also exempt.

Transit and for-hire drivers who relay information to a dispatcher through a device fixed to the vehicle are covered too.

Utility workers and roadside assistance workers sitting in parked vehicles while doing their jobs are considered lawfully stationary under the law.

About 30 states now have similar laws

Louisiana joins a growing list. As of mid-2025, about 30 states and Washington, D.C. had passed hands-free laws banning all handheld device use while driving. Nearly every state already bans texting behind the wheel.

Louisiana’s law also includes a preemption clause, which blocks local governments from passing stricter rules than the state law.

The new law replaced older, narrower restrictions that only banned texting and phone use in school zones.

What drivers need to do before they get behind the wheel

The easiest fix is setting up Bluetooth or a dashboard mount before driving. Drivers should also enter navigation destinations before pulling onto the road.

If a call or message needs attention, the right move is to pull over and park. A red light or a traffic jam does not count as lawfully stationary under this law.

Even holding a phone on speakerphone counts as a violation.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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