Phone Laws and Distracted Driving

Key points

1. Under 18, no cell phone use is allowed, not even hands free devices.

   Source: Handbook p. 46

   “Under eighteen (18) years of age cell phone use is not allowed. The use of hands-free devices is not allowed.”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 46

2. Class D drivers 18 to 20 may use a hands free device while driving.

   Source: Handbook p. 4

   “A Class D driver who is at least eighteen (18) but less than twenty-one (21) years of age may use a handsfree wireless telephone or device”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 4

3. Text messages are not allowed at any age.

   Source: Handbook p. 4

   “A hand-held wireless telephone can only be used for emergencies. Text messages are not allowed regardless of age.”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 4

4. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds, like a football field at 55 mph.

   Source: Handbook p. 45

   “Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 45

5. Texting on a hand held phone involves visual, manual and cognitive distraction at once.

   Source: Handbook p. 46

   “Texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone involves three different types of distraction that occur at the same time”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 46

6. Teens who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash.

   Source: Handbook p. 17

   “distracted teens who are texting while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash.”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 17

7. Learner's and intermediate drivers may use a phone only in an emergency.

   Source: Handbook p. 3

   “The use of a cell phone, whether it is talking or texting, is prohibited by law except for an emergency.”
   Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Handbook p. 3

Numbers to know

3 questions from the Arkansas practice test

1. 1. For a driver under 18 with a learner's license, when is cell phone use permitted?

   1. Whenever the phone is hands-free
   2. Only during an emergency
   3. Only for navigation
   4. Whenever a supervising adult approves it
   Show answer

   Only during an emergency. The learner’s license rule prohibits talking or texting on a cell phone, with an emergency as the exception. Hands-free operation does not create a general permission for this license stage. Navigation and a supervisor’s approval likewise do not replace the statutory exception. A useful cue is to connect the learner stage with minimal distractions: leave the phone alone unless the situation is genuinely an emergency.

2. 2. What phone restriction applies to an Arkansas Class D driver who is 18 but under 21?

   1. All phone communication is allowed if traffic is light
   2. Hands-free interactive communication is allowed, but handheld use is limited to emergencies
   3. Only texting is allowed through a hands-free device
   4. Handheld calls are allowed on interstates only
   Show answer

   Hands-free interactive communication is allowed, but handheld use is limited to emergencies. For a Class D driver in this age band, the guide permits a hands-free wireless telephone or device for interactive communication while driving. A handheld wireless telephone is limited to emergencies, and texting remains prohibited regardless of age. The traffic-density and interstate choices invent exceptions. The practical check is the device and the type of use: hands-free communication may qualify, while a handheld call does not except for an emergency.

3. 3. What cell phone use does Arkansas allow for a driver under 18?

   1. Hands free calls only
   2. Calls but not texts
   3. Any use when stopped at a light
   4. None, not even hands free devices
   Show answer

   None, not even hands free devices. Under the Fewer Distractions Means Safer Driving Act, drivers under 18 may not use a cell phone at all, and hands free devices are not allowed for them either. Drivers 18 or older may use a hands free device, though it is not recommended, and drivers 21 or older may use a phone with restrictions. Texting is prohibited for everyone under the No Texting Law.

Source: the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, Distracted Driving. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.