South Carolina cell phone driving ban goes into law on Sept. 1

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A law targeting distracted driving goes into effect on Monday in South Carolina .

H3276 , known as the SC Hands-Free Act, bans the use of mobile devices while operating a vehicle on South Carolina roads. The bill was signed by Gov. Henry McMaster on May 12 to go into effect on Sept. 1.

South Carolina drivers will now be prohibited from holding a mobile device, reading or writing text messages, and watching videos. The law applies to moving vehicles but does not impact parked vehicles.

Drivers will still be able to use an earpiece or wrist device for communication while on the road. The law also allows drivers to use voice-based communication that is automatically converted by a device, as long as it does not need to be held by the driver to hold the device.

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