Can I send a text message at a red light? Here’s what Mississippi law says

Mona Moore
·4 min read
2

Stop at any red light on the Mississippi Coast and you’re likely to see at least one driver with a phone in their hand.

While drivers know distracted driving is a no-no, what does the law say about using your phone when your foot is on the brake?

Distracted driving

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving can be anything from adjusting your radio to calling your mama. People have been known to read, eat, scold children in the backseat, put on make-up and go live on TikTok.

But more than 32,000 people died in crashes involving distracted drivers from 2012 to 2021.

The statistics are worse for drivers between the ages of 16 and 24.

If you think you can multitask, you’re wrong. Your brain doesn’t work that way. According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, “instead of processing both cognitive tasks at once, the brain rapidly switches between the two activities.”

Drivers can miss seeing up to 50% of their environment, a phenomenon MDOT calls “inattention blindness.”

Tips for safe driving

The NHTSA recommends:

  • Pulling over to send or receive text messages,

  • Appointing one of your passengers as the “designated texter” to handle all of your texts, and

  • Storing your phone in your trunk before you get behind the wheel.

One thing the NHTSA does not recommend is using a handheld phone at a red light or stop sign. In fact, many states can pull you over for it.

According to Mississippi’s law on texting and driving, it is illegal to write, send or read a text message using a handheld device in a moving vehicle. Accessing, reading or posting to social media is also against the law. The exceptions to the ban include hands-free or voice-operated devices, emergency, traffic or weather alerts and anything related to the operation or navigation of the vehicle.

Can you text at a red light or stop sign in Mississippi?

You could try and would likely get away with it on a technicality.

The law doesn’t specifically say you can’t text at a red light. As written, you cannot use your phone while your vehicle is in motion.

But, law enforcement would probably say you are in control of a moving vehicle as long as that vehicle is on and in the drive gear.

Law enforcement has clearer options. Mississippi Highway Patrol Capt. Criss Turnipseed said MHP doesn’t use the texting law very much because it is a civil violation and not a criminal one. In its first year, only 95 tickets were issued statewide.

“Troopers use the careless driving violation,” said Turnipseed. “We will usually observe an erratic driving behavior along with the use of a cell phone to cite a driver for careless driving.”

The careless driving law, MS Code § 63-3-1213 (2017), states, “Any person who drives any vehicle in a careless or imprudent manner, without due regard for the width, grade, curves, corner, traffic and use of the streets and highways and all other attendant circumstances is guilty of careless driving.”

In reference to using cell phones, the law goes on to say, “It is a rebuttable presumption that a person who uses a handheld wireless device while driving is in violation of this section.”

If your next road trip crosses state lines, play it safe. Nearly every state has its own version of the law. For instance, Georgia’s language is not as hazy and would definitely result in a ticket if you text at a red light. The exceptions include parked cars, but also say stops at red lights or stop signs are fair game.

Montana still holds to the wild west mentality. As of April, 2023, there are no bans on the books for handhelds, texts or inexperienced drivers using cells.

What happens if you’re caught?

Gov. Phil Bryant approved a hike in fines for distracted driving in 2015, from $25 to $100 for the first offense.

If involved in a wreck, texting could lead to reckless driving charges which would result in $5 to $100 fine on first offense and up to 10 days in jail plus up to $500 in fines for the second offense. If you get a third reckless driving violation in a 12-month span, your license would be revoked for a year.

If someone dies in the wreck, the charge would likely be vehicular manslaughter (at least $500 in fines and up to a year in jail or two to 20 years in prison).