Kentucky Hands-Free Proposed Driving Laws
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Senate Bill 28, the Phone-Down Kentucky Act, would expand Kentucky’s existing texting ban into a full hands-free driving law that prohibits holding any mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. Sponsored by Senator Jimmy Higdon (R-Lebanon), the bill passed the Senate 31-7 on January 20, 2026 and is now in the House. Violations carry a $100 fine with no points, and peace officers must issue courtesy warnings rather than citations until October 31, 2026.
What SB 28 Does
Senate Bill 28, formally titled an act relating to operating a motor vehicle, was filed on the opening day of the 2026 Regular Session by Senator Jimmy Higdon (R-Lebanon), the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. The official record is on the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission website. The bill repeals and reenacts KRS 189.292, Kentucky’s existing texting-while-driving statute, and replaces it with a broader rule that prohibits holding a mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle.
The Phone-Down Kentucky Act covers more than texting. Under the new rule, a driver cannot hold a phone or other mobile electronic device in the hand while the vehicle is in motion. That includes texting, typing, scrolling, watching video, video calling, or holding the phone to the ear during a voice call. The full text and current status are on the Legislative Research Commission’s SB 28 page.
Current Kentucky Law vs. the New Rule
Kentucky’s current distracted driving rules sit in two statutes. KRS 189.292, enacted in 2010 and amended in 2011, prohibits all drivers from reading, writing, or sending text-based communications while a vehicle is in motion. KRS 189.294 goes further for drivers under 18 with permits or intermediate licenses, banning all personal communication device use while driving. Penalties under both statutes are modest at $25 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense, with three points on the driver’s record.
The gap in current law is wide. Adult drivers can legally hold a phone to their ear, scroll through social media, or watch a video as long as they are not actively reading or sending a text message. SB 28 closes that gap by making the act of holding the device while driving the violation, regardless of what the driver is doing on it. Background coverage of the bill is available from the Courier Journal.
Old Rule vs. New Rule at a Glance
- Old (KRS 189.292): No texting while driving. Holding the phone for calls, scrolling, or video is legal for adults.
- New (SB 28): No holding any mobile electronic device while driving. Hands-free voice and Bluetooth use is permitted.
- Old fine: $25 first / $50 subsequent, plus 3 points
- New fine: $100 per violation, no points
- Old enforcement: Primary enforcement (officer can pull over for the offense alone)
- New enforcement: Primary enforcement, but officer must have clear visual confirmation of unlawful device use
Exceptions Built Into the Bill
SB 28 carves out several exceptions to keep the law workable. A driver may still use a phone or device while the vehicle is lawfully parked or stopped, including at a red light or stop sign in some readings of the bill. A driver may use voice-based or hands-free navigation, communication, and dictation. Emergency calls to law enforcement, fire, or medical responders are explicitly permitted, as are calls to report a crash, hazard, or other emergency. Two-way radios, including citizen band, amateur, and commercial radios, are exempt.
First responders performing official duties are exempt. GPS use is allowed when the device is mounted and not held by the driver, including for entering destinations through voice commands. Drivers who hold a phone while lawfully stopped or parked are not in violation. Detail on every exception is available from Northern Kentucky reporting on the bill.
The bill also limits law enforcement authority during a stop. An officer cannot seize, search, view, or require forfeiture of the device based on the SB 28 violation alone. Officers must have a clear visual confirmation that the driver was holding and using the device before initiating a stop. These limits address civil liberties concerns raised in earlier versions of the bill that died in the 2025 session.
Penalties and the Warning Period
SB 28 amends KRS 189.990 to set a $100 fine for each violation. Unlike the current texting statute, no points are added to the driver’s record under the new rule. Fine revenue is allocated among the Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund, the Kentucky Trauma Care System Fund, and the Veterans’ Program Trust Fund.
The grace period: Under SB 28, peace officers must issue courtesy warnings rather than uniform citations until October 31, 2026. After that date, citations begin. The warning window gives drivers about six months between the law’s anticipated effective date and the start of full enforcement.
The $100 fine is significantly higher than the current $25 first-offense texting penalty, but the absence of points is a meaningful change. Points contribute to license suspension at 12 points within two years under Kentucky’s point system, so the new rule punishes the wallet without putting the license at risk in the same way. Insurance carriers may still surcharge premiums based on cited violations, even without points.
Bill Status and Where It Stands Now
SB 28 cleared the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously on January 14, 2026, then passed the full Senate 31-7 on January 20, 2026. It was received in the House on January 21, 2026, and the most recent recorded action on the bill was March 9, 2026 according to the LegiScan tracker.
The 2026 Regular Session runs through mid-April. SB 28 must clear a House committee and the full House before it can be sent to Governor Beshear. The bill has bipartisan momentum and the backing of Senate transportation leadership, but its fate in the House depends on the legislative calendar and any amendments offered there. If the House does not act before sine die, the bill dies and would need to be refiled in 2027.
The Phone-Down Kentucky framework draws on similar laws in 27 other states, including Georgia, Tennessee, and Ohio, where hands-free statutes have been credited with reductions in distracted driving crashes. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet would be required to post signage at every state highway entry point and at intervals along the highways themselves to inform drivers of the new rule.
What This Means for Crash Claims
If SB 28 becomes law, distracted driving evidence in Kentucky crash cases changes in two important ways. First, the threshold for a violation drops: any visible holding of a phone behind the wheel is per se unlawful, not just active texting. Second, that change makes it easier to establish negligence per se when a crash investigation, witness account, or in-vehicle telematics show the at-fault driver had the phone in hand at the moment of impact.
Phone records, app data, and event data recorder downloads will continue to be central in distracted driving cases. The new statute strengthens the legal hook by making the conduct itself illegal, not just the texting subset. Plaintiffs already obtain phone records through litigation subpoenas in serious crash cases, and that practice will become more impactful when the underlying conduct violates a clear statutory rule.
The bill does not change Kentucky’s pure comparative fault system under KRS 411.182, though crashes occurring on or after April 12, 2026 are subject to the new 50% bar from SB 195 tort reform. A driver who can prove the other party was holding a phone in violation of SB 28 has a stronger argument that the other side’s share of fault crosses the 50% threshold.
For more on Kentucky crash cases, see our Kentucky car accident overview. For broader context on the 2026 legal landscape, see our SB 195 tort reform breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Phone-Down Kentucky Act
When does the Kentucky hands-free law take effect?
If SB 28 passes the House and is signed into law during the 2026 session, it would take effect on the date specified in the enacted bill. Until October 31, 2026, peace officers must issue courtesy warnings rather than uniform citations under the bill’s grace period, then full enforcement begins. Track the current status on the Legislative Research Commission’s SB 28 page.
Can I still use my phone for navigation under SB 28?
Yes, with limits. The bill permits GPS and navigation use as long as the device is mounted or otherwise not held in the driver’s hand. Voice commands for navigation are permitted. Manually entering an address while the vehicle is in motion is not. Coverage of the exceptions is available from the Courier Journal.
What is the fine for a Phone-Down Kentucky Act violation?
The bill sets a $100 fine for each violation, with no points added to the driver’s record. Revenue is divided among the Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund, the Kentucky Trauma Care System Fund, and the Veterans’ Program Trust Fund. The penalty is set in the amended KRS 189.990. The current texting fine is $25 first / $50 subsequent with 3 points, so SB 28 raises the dollar penalty but removes the point hit.
Can a police officer search my phone after a hands-free stop?
No. SB 28 specifically prohibits an officer from seizing, searching, viewing, or requiring forfeiture of the device based solely on a Phone-Down Kentucky Act violation. The officer must also have clear visual confirmation that the driver was unlawfully holding and using the device before making the stop. Detail on the law-enforcement limits is available from Northern Kentucky reporting.
Has SB 28 been signed into law yet?
Not yet. As of the most recent action recorded on the LegiScan tracker (March 9, 2026), the bill is pending in the Kentucky House after passing the Senate 31-7 on January 20, 2026. The 2026 Regular Session runs through mid-April, and the bill must clear the House and any conference committee before going to Governor Beshear.
How does SB 28 affect a Kentucky distracted driving crash case?
If enacted, SB 28 makes any visible phone-holding behind the wheel a per se violation, which makes negligence per se easier to establish in a crash case. Phone records, app data, and event data recorder downloads remain central evidence. The bill does not change Kentucky’s comparative fault rules under KRS 411.182, but it strengthens the argument that the other driver’s share of fault crosses the 50% bar from SB 195.
Does SB 28 cover drivers under 18?
Yes. The bill amends KRS 189.294, the existing rule that bans all personal communication device use by drivers under 18 with permits or intermediate licenses, to incorporate the new mobile-electronic-device language. Underage drivers remain subject to the broader teen-driver ban in addition to the all-driver hands-free rule, with penalties set in KRS 189.990.