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Code of Virginia
Title 46.2. Motor Vehicles
Subtitle III. Operation
Chapter 8. Regulation of Traffic
Article 1. General and Miscellaneous
§ 46.2-818.2. (Effective January 1, 2021) Use of handheld
personal communications devices in certain motor vehicles;
exceptions; penalty
A. It is unlawful for any person, while driving a moving motor vehicle on the highways in the
Commonwealth, to hold a handheld personal communications device.
B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1. The operator of any emergency vehicle while he is engaged in the performance of his official
duties;
2. An operator who is lawfully parked or stopped;
3. Any person using a handheld personal communications device to report an emergency;
4. The use of an amateur or a citizens band radio; or
5. The operator of any Department of Transportation vehicle or vehicle operated pursuant to the
Department of Transportation safety service patrol program or pursuant to a contract with the
Department of Transportation for, or that includes, traffic incident management services as
defined in subsection B of § 46.2-920.1 during the performance of traffic incident management
services.
C. A violation of this section is a traffic infraction punishable, for a first offense, by a fine of $125
and, for a second or subsequent offense, by a fine of $250. If a violation of this section occurs in a
highway work zone, it shall be punishable by a mandatory fine of $250.
D. For the purposes of this section:
"Emergency vehicle" means:
1. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local
law-enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties;
2. Any regional detention center vehicle operated by or under the direction of a correctional
officer responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;
3. Any vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly owned state forest warden vehicles, when
traveling in response to a fire alarm or emergency call;
4. Any emergency medical services vehicle designed or used for the principal purpose of
supplying resuscitation or emergency relief where human life is endangered;
5. Any Department of Emergency Management vehicle or Office of Emergency Medical Services
vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;
6. Any Department of Corrections vehicle designated by the Director of the Department of
Corrections, when (i) responding to an emergency call at a correctional facility, (ii) participating
in a drug-related investigation, (iii) pursuing escapees from a correctional facility, or (iv)
responding to a request for assistance from a law-enforcement officer; and
7. Any vehicle authorized to be equipped with alternating, blinking, or flashing red or red and
white secondary warning lights pursuant to § 46.2-1029.2.
"Highway work zone" means a construction or maintenance area that is located on or beside a
highway and is marked by appropriate warning signs with attached flashing lights or other traffic
control devices indicating that work is in progress.
E. Distracted driving shall be included as a part of the driver's license knowledge examination.
2020, cc. 250, 543.
The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this
section(s) may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters
whose provisions have expired.