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Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A. Motor Vehicles § 2119. Text messaging while operating motor vehicle; prohibition

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

1. Deleted. Laws 2019, c. 486, § 9, eff. Sept. 19, 2019.

2. Prohibition. A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a public way while engaging in text messaging, including but not limited to when the motor vehicle is temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic light or a stop sign.

A person may engage in text messaging while in the operator's seat of a motor vehicle if the person has pulled the motor vehicle over to the side of, or off, a public way and has halted in a location where the motor vehicle can safely remain stationary.

Nothing in this section prohibits a person employed as a commercial driver or a school bus driver from using a handheld electronic device or mobile telephone within the scope of the person's employment as permitted under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations.

3. Penalties. The following penalties apply to a violation of this section.

A. A person who violates this section commits a traffic infraction for which a fine of not less than $250 may be adjudged.

B. A person who violates this section after previously having been adjudicated as violating this section within a 3-year period commits a traffic infraction for which a fine of not less than $500 may be adjudged, and the Secretary of State shall suspend the license of that person without right to hearing. The minimum periods of license suspension are:

(1) Thirty days, if the person has 2 adjudications for a violation of this section within a 3-year period;

(2) Sixty days, if the person has 3 adjudications for a violation of this section within a 3-year period; and

(3) Ninety days, if the person has 4 or more adjudications for a violation of this section within a 3-year period.

For the purposes of this paragraph, an adjudication has occurred within a 3-year period if the date of the new conduct is within 3 years of the date of a docket entry of adjudication of a violation of this section.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A. Motor Vehicles § 2119. Text messaging while operating motor vehicle; prohibition - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/me/title-29-a-motor-vehicles/me-rev-st-tit-29-a-sect-2119/

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