BOSTON — An architect of the 2019 hands-free driving law and the state’s top public safety official say technology may be outpacing the law banning motorists from using handheld electronic devices while driving.
“Our phones can do more today, and there are more ways than ever for technology to compete for a driver’s attention. Our approach to roadway safety must keep pace,” Public Safety and Security Secretary Gina Kwon said Wednesday, Oct. 7.
When Sen. Mark Montigny first filed a hands-free driving bill in 2004, “texting wasn’t even available,” the New Bedford Democrat said. Now, scores of business meetings and casual FaceTime conversations are happening every day.
After years of a difficult-to-enforce ban on texting while driving in Massachusetts, supporters in 2019 approved a hands-free law to create safer driving conditions. But the law has a “loophole” due to newer technology, Sen. Jo Comerford said during a State House hearing.
“The current hands-free driving law bans holding or viewing a mobile device, but it doesn’t explicitly prohibit recording of video while the device is mounted or hands-free,” Comerford said.
The senators referred to the 2021 death of Northampton musician Charlie Braun, who was killed while riding a bicycle by a driver who was on a FaceTime call. A Comerford bill (S 2349) would ban live broadcasting and video recording while driving. The Transportation Committee, co-chaired by Rep. James Arciero and Sen. Brendan Crighton, sent the bill to a dead-end study in March.
“I’m just wondering if this is an issue that’s before you, or is part of your thinking in terms of how this law has rolled out and how it’s being implemented?” Comerford asked.
Gov. Maura Healey’s Cabinet chief replied, “This is exactly what I was thinking when I said that technology has sort of outpaced some of our statutes.”
“I think the proliferation of cellphones, Zoom hearings — you hear these things about people showing up to court hearings while they’re driving,” Kwon said. “I think any type of distracted driving, whether it’s when you’re Zooming, you’re texting, that is what we should be targeting in enforcement.”
Under existing law, “No operator of a motor vehicle shall read or view text, images or video displayed on a mobile electronic device; provided, however, that an operator may view a map generated by a navigation system or application on a mobile electronic device that is mounted on or affixed to a vehicle’s windshield, dashboard or center console in a manner that does not impede the operation of the motor vehicle.”
Operators face a $100 fine for first offense violations, $250 fine for second offenses, and $500 fine for third or subsequent offenses. Those who commit second or subsequent violations have to complete a program encouraging a change in driver behavior.
Comerford’s bill would dictate that “No operator of a motor vehicle shall record, broadcast, or otherwise capture images or video of themselves. No operator shall wear, hold, or otherwise utilize or interact with a spatial computer, or other augmented reality or mixed reality device, operating system, or three-dimensional user interface.”
The operator “shall not view video, images or text unrelated to the operation, maintenance, or navigation of the motor vehicle that is displayed on a monitor, screen or other display installed in the motor vehicle or otherwise worn as a headset or elsewhere on the operator’s body,” with some exceptions.
There’s also evidence that the current efforts to curb distracted driving are not deterring some motorists.
AAA’s 2025 Traffic Safety Culture Index found that while most drivers think scrolling social media, texting or emailing, and reading on a hand-held phone are extremely or very dangerous, 10% reported scrolling through social media, 28% reported sending a text or email, and 38% reported reading one while driving.
Implementation of the hands-free law took effect in 2020, and citations for violating the law were climbing as of 2023. In 2026, 185 participating local departments have conducted 8,681 hours of enforcement and wrote nearly 8,000 citations and warnings, Kwon said. The State Police conducted over 2,000 hours of enforcement and wrote around 7,000 citations and warnings — about 4,000 were for distracted driving, she added.
Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie said that between 2015 and 2019, officers issued an average of 7,885 distracted driver citations annually, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 8%. From 2020 through 2025, that average reached 12,795, representing a 13% compound annual growth rate. She said that around 389,830 citations and warnings have been issued for distracted driving since February 2020. Approximately 74% were warnings and 23% were civil motor vehicle infractions.
AAA Northeast Senior Manager of Government Affairs Christina Hayman said rear-end crashes declined by more than 23% from 2022 to 2025, but noted the importance of continuing education and said hands-free operation, like voice-to-text, is still distracting.
“While total vehicle-in-traffic crashes declined by approximately 8%, the significant decrease in rear-end crashes suggests that the law may be helping to address the significant crash[es] commonly associated with driver inattention and distraction,” Hayman said.
Other factors, like the increasing number of vehicles with automatic breaking systems and fewer people commuting to work, could be contributing, but she called the overall decline “good news.”
Citing crash data, Ogilvie said that from 2015 to 2019, Massachusetts averaged around 11,108 crashes per year where the crash report indicated distracted driving was involved. The average dropped to approximately 9,056 per year from 2020 to 2025. Electronic distraction represented about 30% of all distracted driving crashes in the 2015 to 2019 period, she said, and 25% of them between 2020 and 2025.
While crash reports can provide indicators, they also depend upon observations after a crash, and distracted driving and electronic device use “can be difficult to identify conclusively after the fact,” Ogilvie noted.
Both enforcement and public education are critical to decreasing those figures, Ogilvie said, listing off state campaigns to prevent and stop distracted driving. Safe Roads Alliance President Emily Stein said some drivers seem to treat the law as a suggestion.
“It’s clear that companies need to re-educate their employees about distracted driving, and that hands-free is a law,” Stein said, suggesting that companies and municipalities need to equip their trucks and other vehicles with a phone mount for drivers “so if it’s required for drivers to be accountable, they can use the phone in a hands-free manner.”