Prohibited uses of wireless telecommunications devices or stand-alone electronic devices

[Effective Until 7/1/2024] (a) As used in this section: (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way when any part thereto is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.Person: means a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, corporation, or an engaged ADS. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105(1) “Stand-alone electronic device” means a portable device other than a wireless telecommunications device that stores audio or video data files to be retrieved on demand by a user; (2) “Utility services” means electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, cable, telephone, or telecommunications services or the repair, location, relocation, improvement, or maintenance of utility poles, transmission structures, pipes, wires, fibers, cables, easements, rights of way, or associated infrastructure; and (3) “Wireless telecommunications device” means a cellular telephone, a portable telephone, a text-messaging device, a personal digital assistant, a stand-alone computer, a global positioning system receiver, or substantially similar portable wireless device that is used to initiate or receive communication, information, or data. “Wireless telecommunications device” does not include a radio, citizens band radio, citizens band radio hybrid, commercial two-way radio communication device or its functional equivalent, subscription-based emergency communication device, prescribed medical device, amateur or ham radio device, or in-vehicle security, navigation, autonomous technology, or remote diagnostics system. (b) (1) A person, while operating a motor vehicle on any road or highway in this state, shall not: (A) Physically hold or support, with any part of the person’s body, a: (i) Wireless telecommunications device. This subdivision (b)(1)(A)(i) does not prohibit a person eighteen (18) years of age or older from: (a) Using an earpiece, headphone device, or device worn on a wrist to conduct a voice-based communication; or (b) Using only one (1) button on a wireless telecommunications device to initiate or terminate a voice communication; or (ii) Stand-alone electronic device; (B) Write, send, or read any text-based communication, including, but not limited to, a text message, instant message, email, or internet data on a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device. This subdivision (b)(1)(B) does not apply to any person eighteen (18) years of age or older who uses such devices: (i) To automatically convert a voice-based communication to be sent as a message in a written form; or (ii) For navigation of the motor vehicle through use of a device’s global positioning system; (C) Reach for a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device in a manner that requires the driver to no longer be: (i) In a seated driving position; or (ii) Properly restrained by a safety belt; (D) Watch a video or movie on a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device other than viewing data related to the navigation of the motor vehicle; or (E) Record or broadcast video on a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device. This subdivision (b)(1) does not apply to electronic devices used for the sole purpose of continuously recording or broadcasting video within or outside of the motor vehicle. (2) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b)(1)(A) and (B), and in addition to the exceptions described in those subdivisions, a function or feature of a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device may be activate