In 2015, Missouri experienced its most deadly year since 2009 in terms of traffic fatalities – the Missouri Department of Transportation reported nearly 900 deaths. Despite the fact that 10 percent of these deaths were blamed on the use of mobile electronic devices, Missouri’s distracted driving law remains one of the nation’s least restrictive. As of August 2016 the Missouri General Assembly was still considering strengthening this law.
Distracted Driving Laws in Missouri
In Missouri, texting and driving is prohibited only for drivers under 22 years old. Drivers above that age may legally text and drive. It is also legal for any driver to use hands-free cell phones on Missouri roads. The use of hand-held cell phones is prohibited only for on-duty drivers using commercial driver’s licenses, such as school bus drivers. All of these rules have emergency exceptions – you may text to report an injury accident, for example.
Penalties
In Missouri, the fine for underage texting and driving is $200 plus two points against your driver’s license. The fine for illegally using a cell phone (for commercial drivers) is $20.50; however, a federal statute also prohibits commercial truckers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. The maximum fine for violating the federal law is $2,750, and your commercial driver’s license could be revoked after a third offense.
In the Event of an Accident
Although texting and driving is legal in Missouri for most drivers, that doesn’t mean there won’t be expensive consequences if your texting actually causes a traffic accident, especially if an injury results. Drivers under 22 and commercial drivers in violation of their respective restrictions are likely to fall afoul of Missouri’s “negligence per se” principle if they cause an injury accident and a lawsuit results.
“Negligence per se” means that once the other party proves that you violated the law (by underage texting and driving, for example), you are considered automatically negligent, and all the other party has to do to win the case is to prove that your negligence actually caused the accident. The injured party can try to prove that you violated the texting law even if you were not cited for it at the time of the accident.
Even if you were texting legally at the time of the accident, an injured party can still try to prove in court that your texting was negligent (careless) under the circumstances of the accident – perhaps you were texting while driving down a steep incline in the rain, for example.
Negligent use of a mobile electronic device can be used against you even if you are the one filing the lawsuit over your own injuries (suppose you were injured when you swerved to avoid a pedestrian and hit a tree, for example). If the defendant can prove that you were X percent at fault for the accident, he can deduct X percent from the amount of damages he has to pay you. If you were 25 percent at fault and your damages were $10,000, for example, your 25 percent fault will allow the defendant to subtract $2,500 from the amount he owes you.
– Updated through September 1, 2016