It's one of the most common questions Arizona drivers ask, usually right after glancing at a text at a stoplight: "I'm not moving — is this actually illegal?" Under Arizona's hands-free law, the answer is yes.
What A.R.S. § 28-914 prohibits
Arizona's hands-free law took full effect in January 2021. While driving on a roadway, you may not:
- Physically hold or support a phone or portable electronic device with any part of your body (hand, shoulder, lap-propping counts)
- Write, send, or read any text-based communication — texts, emails, DMs, social media
- Watch video on the device
What remains legal: hands-free use. Voice commands, a single tap or swipe to answer or end a call, using a mounted device for navigation, and talking through Bluetooth or speakerphone are all permitted.
The red light question
Being stopped at a light or stuck in traffic still counts as operating the vehicle on a roadway — the temporary stop does not create an exception. The statute's stopped-vehicle exception applies to a vehicle that is lawfully parked: off the roadway, in a place where it can safely remain. If your foot is on the brake in a travel lane, the law applies to you.
The practical rule: if you need to use your phone in your hand, pull into a parking lot or a safe spot fully off the road.
Penalties
A first violation carries a civil fine (roughly $75–$149), with higher fines ($150–$250) for repeat violations. The stakes rise sharply if distraction contributes to a crash: causing serious injury or death while violating the hands-free law exposes a driver to far more serious consequences, criminal and civil.
Why this matters in an injury claim
For crash victims, a hands-free violation is powerful evidence. Arizona civil cases treat the violation of a safety statute as strong support for negligence — the law existed to prevent exactly the harm that happened.
Proving it is more feasible than most people expect:
- Phone records subpoenaed in litigation show calls and data activity timestamped against the moment of the crash
- Witness observations — the driver looking down, the glow of a screen at night
- Police findings — officers note phone use and sometimes cite § 28-914 at the scene
- Vehicle and app data — infotainment logs and app activity can corroborate use
A distracted driving finding can also open the door to arguments for enhanced damages when the conduct was egregious — reading a screen at highway speed is a very different fact than a moment's inattention. Our guide to evidence mistakes and car accident practice page cover how these cases get built.
If a distracted driver hit you
Preserve the crash report, note anything you or witnesses saw about the driver's phone, and get to an attorney early — phone records require formal process to obtain, and the sooner a preservation demand goes out, the better. Saguaro Injury Law offers free consultations 24/7 in English and Spanish: (602) 217-0000.