Your Phone Behind the Wheel
IC 9-21-8-59 — no holding or using a phone while driving a moving vehicle, hands free excepted
A person may not hold or use a telecommunications device while driving a moving motor vehicle. A device may be used with hands free or voice operated technology, and may be held or used to call 911 to report a real emergency.
Who handles this in Indiana: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Indiana directory.
Breaking the rule is a Class C infraction. The chapter's general rule making a violation that hurts someone a Class A infraction expressly leaves this section out.
- An officer may not, without the driver's consent, confiscate the phone to check compliance.
- An officer may not confiscate it and keep it as evidence pending trial for a violation of the section.
- An officer may not download information from it for a violation of the section, unless there is probable cause that it was used in a crime, a valid search warrant, or other authority in law.
Sources for this section (2)
- IC 9-21-8-59 — Use of telecommunications device while operating a moving motor vehicle
- IC 9-21-8-49 — Violations; Class C infraction; Class A infraction if bodily injury; exceptions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Indiana attorney.