New Hampshire’s hands-free law, RSA 265:79-c, was passed in 2014 and went into effect July 1, 2015. (Another law relating to this topic, RSA 265:105-a, was repealed as of January 1, 2023. It prohibited a driver of a motor vehicle from writing a text message while driving.) We have listed several additional statutes which could also apply to a driver using hand-held electronic devices while driving. That kind of behavior could be brought as a civil offense under either reckless driving, vehicular assault, or negligent driving, under RSA 265:79, 79-a or 79-b, respectively, or, if severe enough, could become a criminal offense as defined in RSA 626:2.
Motor vehicle convictions under the statutes listed above can result in disqualification for some jobs.
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