Texting and distracted driving laws in Missouri

For years, Missouri was an outlier. Until August 2023 the state banned texting behind the wheel only for drivers 21 and younger and for commercial operators, a narrow rule that lived in Mo. Rev. Stat. § 304.820.¹ Missouri and Montana were the last two states without a broader texting ban for adults. That changed with the Siddens Bening Hands-Free Law, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 304.822, which took effect August 28, 2023 and applies to every driver on a Missouri highway.²

The law carries the names of two Missourians killed in distracted-driving crashes, and their families spent years pushing it through the Capitol.²

What the law actually bans

Section 304.822 reaches well past typing a text. While your vehicle is moving, you cannot physically hold or support a phone or other electronic communication device with any part of your body.² The statute also bars writing, sending, or reading text-based messages, making or taking calls unless they are hands-free, watching or recording video (including video calls and social media posts), and manually entering information into an app or website.² MoDOT boils the core prohibitions down to four: no holding, no texting, no video, no watching movies.³

"Hands-free" has a defined meaning here. Subsection 2 lets you use a device by voice or with a single touch or single swipe to start or end a function, but not in any way that requires you to hold it or keep a hand on it.² A dashboard mount paired with voice commands is fine. Propping the phone against the steering wheel is not.

Several uses are carved out. Subsection 5 exempts reporting an emergency or a crash, on-duty law enforcement and emergency responders, and drivers who are lawfully stopped or parked.² Navigation and GPS use is allowed, and a permanently installed navigation system is excluded from the definition of a covered device altogether.²

The fines, and when it becomes a crime

The base violation is an infraction rather than a crime, and the fine climbs with each repeat. A first offense runs up to $150.² Pick up another conviction within 24 months and the next one is up to $250, with a third inside that window up to $500.² A violation in an active work zone or a school zone is up to $500 on its own.²

The stakes change when the distraction causes a wreck. Under subsection 6, a violation that results in more than $5,000 in property damage is a Class D misdemeanor, one that causes serious physical injury is a Class B misdemeanor, and one that causes a death is a Class D felony.² Those are criminal charges, and they sit on top of any civil claim from the people who were hurt.

Enforcement is secondary, with limits on phone evidence

Here is the part that catches drivers off guard. Missouri made this a secondary offense. Subsection 12 states that "no person shall be stopped, inspected, or detained solely for a violation of this section," so an officer needs a separate reason to pull you over, such as speeding or a broken taillight.²

There was also a soft launch. Under subsection 11, officers could issue warnings only before January 1, 2025.² Since that date, citations have been on the table and the law is in full effect.

Subsection 7 matters a great deal after a serious crash. Police cannot obtain a warrant to seize or search a phone based on a 304.822 violation unless the crash caused serious bodily injury or death, and an officer has to tell the driver about the right to decline a search.² That is a real limit on how phone data enters an ordinary collision case, which is often why preserving that evidence quickly falls to the injured party and their attorney.

Why distraction still fills Missouri crash reports

This is not a hypothetical problem. MoDOT recorded 106 people killed in distracted-driving crashes in Missouri in 2023, and the agency treats that as a likely undercount because distraction is hard to prove after the fact.³ In those fatal crashes, 88% of the distracted drivers were older than 21, the exact group the old under-21 texting ban never covered.³ And 52% of the people killed were someone other than the distracted driver, often a passenger or a person in another vehicle.³ MoDOT runs its "Phone Down. It's the Law." campaign around those numbers.³

How a texting violation affects a Missouri injury claim

A traffic ticket and a civil injury claim run on separate tracks, but they meet. If the driver who hit you was on a phone, that conduct can be strong evidence of negligence in your claim for medical bills, lost income, and vehicle damage.

Missouri applies pure comparative fault. Under Gustafson v. Benda, your recovery is reduced by your own percentage of blame but is never wiped out entirely, even when you carry most of it.⁴ A distracted driver who was 90% at fault still owes 90% of your damages.

You have time, but not unlimited time. Missouri gives you five years to file a personal injury lawsuit under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120(4), among the longer windows in the country, and that same five-year clock covers damage to your vehicle.⁵ Acting early still matters, because phone records and dashcam footage do not stay available forever, and memories fade.

Missouri is an at-fault state with no mandatory PIP or no-fault coverage, so you generally pursue the at-fault driver and their insurer. Every liability policy has to carry at least 25/50/25 in coverage, which is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries plus $25,000 for property damage, under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 303.190.⁶ Because those minimums are low and some drivers carry nothing at all, state law also requires uninsured motorist coverage of at least 25/50 on every policy, with no option to waive it, under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 379.203.⁷ That uninsured motorist coverage is what responds when a distracted driver with no insurance injures you.

If you need the official record of your wreck, pull your Missouri crash report. If the collision cut your car's resale value even after solid repairs, that is a separate diminished value claim worth understanding. And when a distracted driver leaves you seriously hurt, it is worth speaking with an attorney before you settle with the insurer.

This is general information, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, talk to a licensed Missouri attorney.

Sources

1. Missouri Revised Statutes § 304.820 (prior texting ban for drivers 21 and under and commercial operators; repealed by S.B. 398, effective August 28, 2023). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=304.820

2. Missouri Revised Statutes § 304.822 (Siddens Bening Hands-Free Law). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=304.822

3. Missouri Department of Transportation, "Distracted Driving," Save MO Lives. https://www.savemolives.com/mcrs/distracted-driving

4. Gustafson v. Benda, 661 S.W.2d 11 (Mo. banc 1983) (adopting pure comparative fault). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1787880/gustafson-v-benda/

5. Missouri Revised Statutes § 516.120 (five-year statute of limitations for personal injury and property damage). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=516.120

6. Missouri Revised Statutes § 303.190 (minimum liability limits, 25/50/25). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=303.190

7. Missouri Revised Statutes § 379.203 (mandatory uninsured motorist coverage). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=379.203