In brief
- From October 1, Connecticut's distracted driving law (Public Act 26-63) bans holding or supporting a mobile electronic device with any part of your body while driving, whether or not you are using it. Stopped in traffic or at a signal still counts as driving. Hands-free mode stays legal for drivers 18 and older, except school bus drivers carrying passengers.
- Video or moving images you can see from the driver's seat, on a phone or a built-in screen, become illegal. The exceptions are a navigation map on a mounted device or screen and video that helps with backing, parking, your view of the road or object detection. Fines stay $200, $375 and $625.
- Public Act 26-95 adds a mandatory six-month license suspension, without a hearing, for a third or later violation of the law requiring you to stop for a school bus showing flashing red lights. Fines stay $450 for a first offense and $500 to $1,000 after that.
- The same date doubles the fine for loud or modified exhaust and other Section 14-80 equipment violations, from $150 to $300 per offense, and writes a maximum fine of $250 into the statute for breaking a governor's weather travel ban.
What changed
| Topic | Before | After | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Having a phone in your hand while driving | Illegal to use a hand-held mobile telephone to engage in a call, to use a mobile electronic device, or to type, send or read a text. A phone held to or near your ear was presumed to be a call. Hands-free phones were exempt. | Illegal to hold or support a mobile electronic device with any part of your body, whether or not you are using it; to use a device other than in hands-free mode; or to read, view or type a text or other nonvoice message. | Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 31 (C.G.S. 14-296aa(b)), effective October 1, 2026; the before text is C.G.S. 14-296aa(b) as currently published (checked ) |
| What counts as hands-free | A 'hands-free mobile telephone' was defined by its features: a phone that lets you engage in a call without using either hand. | 'Hands-free mode' is defined by how you use it: voice communication or audio without touching or holding the device, except a single touch or swipe to activate, deactivate or initiate a function. | Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 31 (C.G.S. 14-296aa(a)) (checked ) |
| Video visible to the driver | No provision aimed at video on installed screens; OLR says much of the conduct was presumably already illegal as device use. | Illegal when a video or moving image on a device or installed screen is visible from the normal driving position, except a navigation map on a mounted device or screen and views that help with backing, parking, road visibility or object detection. | Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, Public Act Summary 26-63, Sections 31 to 34 (checked ) |
| Failing to keep a proper lookout | Not listed; 14-296aa(f) banned only activity unrelated to driving that interferes with safe operation. | Added to 14-296aa(f) as its own violation. | Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 31 (C.G.S. 14-296aa(f)) (checked ) |
| Distracted driving fines | $200 first violation, $375 second, $625 third or later. | Unchanged: $200, $375 and $625. | Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 248, Section 14-296aa(h), Public Act 26-63 restates subsection (h) with the same amounts (checked ) |
| Third or later violation of the school bus stopping law (C.G.S. 14-279(a)) | $450 fine for a first offense; $500 to $1,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both for each later offense; no suspension in 14-111(b). | Same fines, plus a mandatory six-month license suspension by the DMV commissioner, without a hearing. Municipal camera ordinance violations do not count. | Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-95, Section 1 (C.G.S. 14-111(b)), fines from C.G.S. 14-279(b); camera carve-out from the OLR summary of the act (checked ) |
| Loud exhaust and other Section 14-80 equipment violations | $150 per offense. | $300 per offense. | Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 30 (C.G.S. 14-80(g)) (checked ) |
| Violating a governor's travel restriction order | An infraction with the fine set outside the statute; OLR puts it at $50 as of October 2025. | A fine of not more than $250, set in C.G.S. 3-6a(b). | Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 12 (C.G.S. 3-6a), the $50 prior figure is from the OLR summary, not the act (checked ) |
On your test: Connecticut
Connecticut's class D knowledge test is 25 questions and you need 20 correct (Connecticut DMV figures we verified on August 27). Section 14-36(e)(3), as it reads after PA 26-63, requires every class D knowledge test to include at least one question on distracted driving, the use of mobile electronic devices, or a driver's duties under 14-296aa, and a question on highway work zone safety; the act only swaps 'mobile telephones and electronic devices' for 'mobile electronic devices' in that sentence. So at least one question on your test will cover distracted driving, device use or 14-296aa, the section this act rewrites. If you test on or after that date, answer from the new wording: holding the device is the violation and video in view is banned. The rule that drivers under 18 may not use a device even hands-free is unchanged. On a question about holding a phone to talk or text, the answer is the same under both versions. In our bank, ct-state-05 keeps its correct answer but its explanation still describes the old talk or text wording; ct-state-06 and ct-state-11 are not affected by either act.
Holding the Phone Becomes the Offense
From October 1, Connecticut stops asking what you were doing with your phone and starts asking whether it was in your hand. Public Act 26-63 rewrites the distracted driving statute, Section 14-296aa, around three bans: holding or supporting a mobile electronic device with any part of your body, using a device unless it is in hands-free mode, and reading, viewing or typing a text or other nonvoice message.
The old law was built around the phone call. It banned using a hand-held mobile telephone to engage in a call, banned using a mobile electronic device, banned typing, sending or reading texts, and presumed that a phone held near your ear meant you were on a call. The new first ban removes the need to prove what you were doing: holding or supporting the device is a violation on its own, separate from the ban on using it.
'Mobile electronic device' also gets wider. It now names mobile telephones and equipment that displays a video or moving image alongside texting devices, laptops and game players, and the act adds 'but not limited to' to make clear the list is not exhaustive. Audio equipment, and equipment installed in the car for navigation, emergency help or rear seat entertainment, is still outside the definition.
You are operating a car even when you are stopped because of traffic, road conditions or a sign or signal. Being parked on the side or shoulder of the road where the car can safely stay put is not operating. So a red light is not a break from the rule, and a safe pull-off is.
SourcesConnecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 31 (checked 2026-09-26); Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 248, Section 14-296aa as it reads before October 1 (checked 2026-09-26)
Hands-Free Under the New Definition
Drivers 18 and older can still talk while driving, but only in hands-free mode, which the act defines by how you use the device rather than by what it can do. Hands-free mode means voice communication or audio without touching or holding the device, except for a single touch or swipe to turn a function on, turn it off or start it. Scrolling a playlist or typing an address on your phone while driving goes past that single touch.
Drivers under 18 get no hands-free allowance. The act keeps the rule that a person under 18 may not drive while using a mobile electronic device, including in hands-free mode. Their one exception, which applies to every driver, is holding or using a device solely to communicate about an emergency with an emergency response operator, a hospital, physician's office or health clinic, an ambulance company, a fire department or a police department. School bus drivers carrying passengers are also barred from hands-free use, with narrow exceptions for emergencies, two-way style contact with school officials, and approved mounted navigation.
SourcesConnecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Section 31 (C.G.S. 14-296aa(a), (b)(3), (c) and (d)) (checked 2026-09-26)
Screens You Can See From the Driver's Seat
The second new prohibition is about what is visible, not what you touch. From October 1 you may not drive while a video or moving image on a mobile electronic device, an installed screen or a similar device is visible to you in the normal driving position. That reaches a phone propped in a cup holder and the car's own center display.
Two exceptions keep ordinary cars legal. A map generated by a navigation system or app is allowed if the device or screen is mounted on or affixed to the windshield, dashboard or center console in a way that does not impede driving. And video used to help you back up or park, to add to your view of the road, or to detect objects is allowed, which covers a backup camera feed. A navigation map on a phone in your hand is still a violation, because the holding ban applies on its own.
The act also adds a catch-all to subsection (f): failing to maintain a proper lookout is now listed next to the older ban on any activity unrelated to driving that interferes with safe operation. OLR's summary says much of the video conduct was presumably already illegal as device use; the change makes it explicit and extends it to built-in screens.
SourcesConnecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, Public Act Summary 26-63 (checked 2026-09-26)
The Money: Phone Fines Hold, Equipment Fines Double
The distracted driving fines are not changing: $200 for a first violation, $375 for a second and $625 for a third or later. If you commit a moving violation while doing something 14-296aa prohibits, the distracted driving fine is added on top of the fine for the moving violation. The officer must write on the summons what distracted behavior was seen, and the violation goes on your driving history record, where motor vehicle insurers can see it.
Two other fines in PA 26-63 change on October 1. The penalty for violating Section 14-80, the equipment rules on noise, mufflers, exhaust pipes, smoke, horns and sirens, rises from $150 to $300 per offense. That covers mufflers without baffles, gutted mufflers, muffler cutouts, straight exhausts and devices that make a car louder. Violating a travel restriction order the governor issues for extreme weather was an infraction with a fine set outside the statute, which OLR puts at $50 as of October 2025; the act writes a maximum of $250 into Section 3-6a.
This is general information about what the acts say, not legal advice.
SourcesConnecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63, Sections 12, 30 and 31 (checked 2026-09-26)
Three School Bus Convictions, Six Months Without a License
Public Act 26-95 adds one clause to Connecticut's license suspension statute, Section 14-111(b), and it is aimed at repeat offenders. For a third or subsequent violation of Section 14-279(a), the school bus stopping law, the DMV commissioner must suspend the driver's license or operating privilege for six months, without a hearing. A conviction counts, and so does forfeiting a bond or receiving a suspended judgment or sentence.
The stopping rule and the fines do not change. You must stop at least 10 feet from the front of a school bus you are approaching, or 10 feet from the rear of one you are following, when it shows flashing red lights, and stay stopped until the lights go off. The rule applies on any highway, private road, parking area or school property. On a road where two or more lanes are separated by a safety island or physical barrier, you may pass a bus on the opposite side of that island or barrier. A first offense carries a $450 fine; each later one carries a $500 to $1,000 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both.
Tickets issued under a town's school bus camera ordinance, which carry a separate $250 municipal fine, do not count toward the suspension. Neither the act nor the OLR summary says whether violations from before October 1 count toward the three, and we found no DMV guidance on it, so do not assume older convictions are left out.
SourcesConnecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-95 (checked 2026-09-26); Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 248, Section 14-279 (checked 2026-09-26); Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, Public Act Summary 26-95, the act does not apply to violations of municipal camera ordinances under C.G.S. 14-279c (checked 2026-09-26)
What to do now
- Before October 1, mount your phone on the windshield, dashboard or center console and set up hands-free calling and navigation. From October 1 the phone must stay out of your hand, including at a red light or in stopped traffic.
- Check your car's center screen before October 1. If it can play video while you drive, turn that off; a navigation map and a backup camera view are allowed.
- Under 18 with a learner's permit or license: put the device away completely while driving. The only exception is contacting police, fire, an ambulance company, a hospital, physician's office or health clinic, or an emergency operator about an emergency.
- Taking the knowledge test on or after October 1: read the new 14-296aa rules above, then practice on the Connecticut practice test, since at least one question on every class D test covers distracted driving or device use.
- Already have school bus violations on your record: the act does not say whether ones from before October 1 count toward the three, so do not assume they are left out. From October 1 a third conviction, bond forfeiture or suspended judgment or sentence under 14-279(a) brings a six-month suspension without a hearing.
- Running a straight pipe, gutted muffler or muffler cutout: from October 1 the fine for each Section 14-80 offense is $300, double the old $150, and a surcharge of 50 percent of the fine is added on top.
Frequently asked
Can I hold my phone at a red light in Connecticut?
No. From October 1, 2026 you may not hold or support a mobile electronic device with any part of your body while operating, and the law counts being stopped for traffic or a signal as operating. Only being safely parked on the side or shoulder of the road is excluded.
Can I use my phone for GPS while driving in Connecticut?
Yes, if the phone is mounted on or affixed to the windshield, dashboard or center console without impeding your driving, and you are not holding it. A navigation map is one of the moving images the law allows in your view; video that helps you back up or park, adds to your view of the road, or helps with object detection is also allowed.
What is the fine for using a phone while driving in Connecticut?
$200 for a first violation, $375 for a second and $625 for a third or later. Public Act 26-63 does not change those amounts, and the fine is added on top of any moving violation committed at the same time.
What happens after a third school bus violation in Connecticut?
From October 1, 2026, the DMV commissioner must suspend your license for six months without a hearing, in addition to a $500 to $1,000 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both for a repeat offense. Violations of a town's camera ordinance do not count.
Can a 17-year-old in Connecticut use hands-free calling?
No. Drivers under 18 may not use a mobile electronic device while driving, even in hands-free mode, except to communicate about an emergency with police, fire, an ambulance company, a hospital, physician's office or health clinic, or an emergency response operator.
Sources
- Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-63 (Substitute House Bill 5464) (Primary source), Connecticut General Assembly, published , accessed . Approved May 27, 2026. Sections 12, 30, 31, 32 and 33 are effective October 1, 2026. Confirms the $300 equipment fine and the $250 travel ban maximum. Contains no work zone reckless driving provision.
- Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, Public Act Summary for PA 26-63 (Primary source), Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, published , accessed . Source for the prior $50 administrative travel ban fine, the 50 percent surcharge on Section 14-80 fines, and OLR's view that much video use was presumably already covered as device use.
- Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act 26-95 (Substitute Senate Bill 508) (Primary source), Connecticut General Assembly, published , accessed . Approved June 4, 2026; effective October 1, 2026. Adds the six-month suspension for a third and any subsequent violation of C.G.S. 14-279(a).
- Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, Public Act Summary for PA 26-95 (Primary source), Connecticut General Assembly, Office of Legislative Research, published , accessed . States the 10 foot stopping rule, the existing fines and that municipal camera ordinance violations are excluded.
- Office of the Governor of Connecticut, Governor Lamont signs legislation requiring license suspension regarding school buses (Primary source), Office of the Governor of Connecticut, published , accessed . Matches the act and the OLR summary on the suspension, fines and camera carve-out.
- Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 248 (Sections 14-279 and 14-296aa before October 1) (Primary source), Connecticut General Assembly, published , accessed . General Statutes revision the page itself says predates the 2026 Supplement; used for the before column. PA 26-63 amends 14-296aa as it appears in the general statutes, not the 2026 Supplement, and the 14-279 fines and 10 foot rule match the June 2026 OLR summary of PA 26-95.