The “South Carolina Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act” was passed into law and signed by the SC Governor this month.

The hands-free cell phone ban goes into effect on September 1, 2025. In this article, we will review what you need to know about SC’s new cellphone law, including how a violation might affect your driving record and the potential penalties if you are convicted of distracted driving in SC.

SC’s New Hands-Free Distracted Driving Law

The “South Carolina Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act” became law in SC this month and will go into effect on September 1, 2025. Below, we will look at the details of the new SC law, including:

• Whether the new law applies to GPS or other electronic devices,
• The types of radios that are excepted from the hands-free law,
• What is prohibited under the cellphone ban, and
• The potential penalties if convicted of a distracted driving violation in SC.

Does the Hands-Free Law Apply to GPS?

Maybe?

The law expressly applies to GPS receivers as well as cellular telephones, computers, or other electronic devices that could contain GPS. You cannot use them while driving.

Subsection C(7), however, expressly excludes the use of “equipment or services installed by the original manufacturer of the vehicle.” So you can use GPS if it was “installed by the original manufacturer of the vehicle.”

The distracted driving law doesn’t just apply to cellphones – it applies to any “mobile electronic device” which could include a:

• cell phone,
• computer,
• GPS receiver,
• Electronic game, or
• “[A]ny substantially similar stand-alone electronic device used to communicate, display, or record digital content.”

Does the SC distracted driving law apply to radios?

The definition of “mobile electronic device” excludes a “citizens band radio, amateur radio, ham radio, commercial two-way radio or its functional equivalent, subscription-based emergency communication device, or prescribed medical device.”

What’s Illegal Under the New 2025 Law?

The hands-free cell phone law prohibits three things while driving:

1. Holding or supporting a mobile electronic device, although earpieces or wristbands are permitted,
2. Reading, composing, or transmitting any text, including text messages, emails, apps, or websites, and
3. Watching “motion” on an electronic mobile device – including videos, movies, games, or video calls.

What are the exceptions to the Cellphone Ban?

The hands-free cell phone ban does not apply to a driver who is:

• Parked or stopped,
• Using voice-based communication provided that the user is not holding or supporting the device with any part of their body,
• Reporting an accident, emergency, or safety hazard to a public safety official,
• “[T]ransmitting or receiving data as part of a digital dispatch system while performing occupational duties or while conducting network performance testing or testing required by the Federal Communications Commission,”
• A first responder on the job,
• Using the device for navigation, to listen to audio-based content, to obtain traffic or road condition information, to initiate or end a call, or to unlock the device, provided the user is not holding or supporting the device with any part of their body, or
• Using equipment or services that were installed by the original manufacturer of the vehicle.

What Are the Penalties for a Distracted Driving/ Cell Phone Ban Violation in SC?

The cell phone ban doesn’t go into effect until September 1, 2025. After that, there will be a six-month period during which law enforcement is only permitted to issue warnings.

After the initial 180-day period, a conviction will result in a 100-dollar fine for a first offense. For a second or subsequent offense, the fine increases to 200 dollars, and the DMV will assess two points on the person’s driving record.

For purposes of determining whether an offense is first or second, only convictions within the last three years will count.

A conviction for distracted driving is punishable by a fine only – the driver cannot be arrested for the offense. So, how can it hurt you?

Police will say they had a “clear and unobstructed view” of you on your cellphone. That gives them probable cause to stop your vehicle.

Once they have stopped your vehicle, they have the right to ask you to step out of the vehicle, they will attempt to engage you in conversation, they will look through the windows of your vehicle, and they might deploy a K-9 unit to walk around your car.

Although they cannot arrest you for using your cellphone while driving, they can pull you over and find excuses to search your vehicle (they can say they smelled marijuana or they saw contraband in plain view inside the car), and they can arrest you for drug offenses, driving under the influence, or another criminal charge based on what they find during their roadside “investigation” of your cell phone use.

Distracted Driving – Traffic Violations Lawyer in Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC speeding ticket lawyer Grant B. Smaldone has successfully handled most types of traffic violations in South Carolina and the drug cases that often result from traffic violations.

We know the local courts, law enforcement agencies, local procedures, and, in most cases, we can get your ticket dismissed or rewritten to an offense that will not affect your license and insurance.

If you were given a speeding ticket or any other traffic violation in the Charleston, SC area, call before your initial court date at (843) 808-2100 or fill out our online contact form to set up a free consultation about your case.