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Cell phone driving: What's banned, what's not

When legislators banned texting and the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, they also passed—and Governor Jack Markell signed into law—two bills carving out important exemptions.

Here are the rules of the road for cell phone use starting January 2, 2011.

What you can’t do:

  • text while driving or use hand-held call phones
  • use pagers, PDAs, laptops, games, portable computers, or two-way communication devices while driving
  • read, write, or send messages while driving, or browse wirelessly

What you can do:

  • talk using a hands-free device
  • pick up the phone to dial a phone number or to activate or deactivate wireless equipment (but then you must put the phone down)

Who is exempt:

  • law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS technicians, or other operators of authorized emergency vehicles in the performance of their official duties
  • anyone reporting an emergency
  • a person driving or operating a farm tractor, non-registered farm truck, or farm equipment
  • HAM radio operators
  • business or government employees who use a two-way radio to communicate with a central dispatch, a base of operation or  other employees (for example, utility companies and DelDOT)