Texting and distracted driving laws in Utah

Getting hit by someone who was looking at a phone is one of the most common ways people get hurt on Utah roads, and one of the most preventable. Utah runs one of the stricter handheld phone laws in the country. If the driver who hit you was on a device, that fact can shape both the ticket they get and the injury claim you file.

This page sticks to what Utah law actually says: the rules, numbers, and deadlines that apply here. The broader case for why distraction is dangerous lives on the national hub.

What Utah's handheld law actually bans

Utah's ban reaches well past texting. Under Utah Code 41-6a-1716, you can't manually operate a moving vehicle while you write, send, or read a text, instant message, or email; dial a phone number; access the internet; take a photo or record video; view a photo or video; or enter data into a wireless device.¹ Reading a message counts. So does typing an address into a maps app by hand.

Some uses stay legal. You can talk on the phone, use hands-free or voice-activated technology, and use a system built into the car.¹ Viewing a GPS or navigation app is allowed, and so is using a device during a medical emergency, to report a safety hazard, or to report a crime.¹ The line the statute draws is manual interaction. Voice is fine, thumbs are not. The ban applies while the vehicle is moving, so the safe habit is to handle the phone only when you're parked, not just paused at a light.

Penalties, and why they got tougher

A base offense is a class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $100.¹ It rises to a class B misdemeanor, which carries up to $1,000 in fines and as much as 180 days in jail, in two situations: if you caused serious bodily injury to someone while using the device, or if you have a prior conviction under the same section within the last three years.¹

For someone reading this after a bad crash, that enhancement is the part that matters. A driver who caused serious injury while on a phone faces the heavier charge, and a conviction there can also help establish fault in your civil case. Enforcement is primary, so an officer can stop a driver for the phone alone, with no other violation needed.¹ The Utah Highway Safety Office states the rule plainly: it's illegal to manually use your phone while driving, including texting, email, changing music, and web browsing, with penalties that start at $100 and climb for injuries or repeat offenses.²

How often distraction shows up in Utah crashes

The state's own data is blunt about the scale. Utah's Highway Safety Office counted 25,532 distracted-driving crashes from 2020 through 2024, which produced 9,291 injury crashes and 88 fatal crashes.³ About 6.5% of the state's fatal crashes over that period involved a distracted driver.³ Roughly 63% of distracted-driving crashes were rear-end collisions, and cell phone use was a factor in 27% of the distracted-driving fatal crashes.³ Drivers between 15 and 29 accounted for the most distracted-driving fatalities.³

The office frames the everyday risk this way: at highway speed, taking your eyes off the road for the five seconds it takes to read a text is like driving the length of a football field without looking.²

After a crash, Utah's no-fault rules come first

Utah is a no-fault state, which changes who pays the first dollars. Personal injury protection, or PIP, is required on nearly every Utah auto policy, with at least $3,000 in medical coverage, no deductible, plus wage-loss and funeral benefits.⁴ Motorcycles are the main exception, since PIP isn't mandated on them. Your own PIP pays your early medical bills no matter who caused the crash, and the insurer has 30 days from receiving proof of loss to pay; overdue benefits accrue interest at 1.5% per month.⁵

No-fault also limits when you can sue the distracted driver for pain and suffering. You clear Utah's tort threshold only if your medical bills top $3,000, or the crash caused death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, or a bone fracture.⁵ Below that line, your recovery generally stays inside the PIP system. Above it, the other driver's distraction is squarely in play.

Proving fault and Utah's comparative negligence rule

If you cross the threshold and pursue the driver, their phone use helps your case. Violating a traffic-safety statute like 41-6a-1716 is the kind of conduct that supports a negligence claim, and phone records, the officer's crash report, and any citation can back it up. You can order that report from the Utah Highway Patrol through the Department of Public Safety records portal.⁶ Our Utah crash reports page walks through how.

Utah follows modified comparative negligence. You can recover only if your share of the fault is less than the other side's, which in a two-car crash means staying under 50%.⁷ Your award then drops by your percentage of blame. Found 20% at fault on a $50,000 claim, you collect $40,000. At 50% or more, you get nothing.⁷ A distracted driver's insurer may try to push part of the blame onto you, so the crash report and independent evidence carry weight.

Deadlines and coverage numbers to know

You generally have four years from the crash date to file a personal injury lawsuit in Utah, under the state's four-year residual limit for negligence claims.⁸ The same four-year window now covers damage to your vehicle, a change Utah made in 2023.⁸ Miss the deadline and the claim is usually gone, so the date matters even while you're still treating.

Utah raised its minimum auto liability limits on January 1, 2025. The floor is now 30/65/25: $30,000 per person and $65,000 per crash for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage, up from the old 25/65/15.⁹ Those are minimums, and a serious injury can exhaust them fast, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters. Utah requires UM and UIM coverage on every auto policy, matching your liability limits, unless you sign a written form lowering or rejecting it.¹⁰

If your car is worth less after the repair, that's a separate claim from your injuries, and our Utah diminished value guide covers it. When a distracted driver leaves you fighting an insurer while you're trying to heal, an attorney who handles Utah crash claims can take that off your plate. You can find one through our legal directory.

This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your situation.

Sources

Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 41-6a-1716 (using a handheld wireless communication device while operating a moving vehicle). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6a/41-6a-S1716.html
Utah Highway Safety Office, Distracted Driving. https://highwaysafety.utah.gov/distracted-driving/
Utah Highway Safety Office, 2026 Statewide Problem Identification. https://highwaysafety.utah.gov/2026-problem-id/
Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 31A-22-307 (personal injury protection coverage). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S307.html
Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 31A-22-309 (payment of PIP benefits; limitations on the right to recover). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S309.html
Utah Highway Patrol, Get a Crash/Police Report. https://uhp.utah.gov/get-crash-police-report/
Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 78B-5-818 (comparative negligence). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter5/78B-5-S818.html
Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 78B-2-307 (four-year limitation for actions not otherwise provided for). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter2/78B-2-S307.html
Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 31A-22-304 (motor vehicle liability policy minimum limits). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S304.html
Utah State Legislature, Utah Code § 31A-22-305 (uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage). https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S305.html

Texting & Distracted Driving Laws in Utah