Is It Legal to Have Your Phone Mounted on Your Dash in Maine?

Driving all over Maine, I tend to see many cars (obviously), and there is a similarity in almost every car I see: a cell phone pinned to the dash, whether it's hooked onto a device to hold on or magnetized straight to the dashboard. In many of our minds, if these cell phone mounts are for sale, then it should be legal, right?

I often watch people engaging in various activities on their phones while they are mounted, listening to podcasts, watching movies or TV shows, basically anything the phone can do.

But if the phone is mounted on the dashboard and not held in hand, does that make it legal?

According Maine's hands-free driving law (a new rule that started back in September of 2019), says you can't hold any electronic device in your hand while driving, unless it's built into your car or there's a special rule that says you can.

These mounts and the cellphones on them are not built into the vehicle.

The rule further says that "your phone can be mounted if it doesn’t obstruct your view of the roadway."

So there it is. It is legal to mount your cell phone in your car.

But now I have more questions about the built-in screens that come with the vehicle. Many of the newest cars have full-on, TV-size screens. Don't you think that would be distracting?

My opinion? Don't touch your phone at all. Thankfully, many of the vehicles have Bluetooth capabilities these days.

My phone automatically connects to Bluetooth when I turn my car on, and I use voice command if I need to do anything with my phone.

In today's digital age, it's easy to feel super pressured to always answer your phone or respond to emails or texts right away. But listen, your life is way more important than letting someone know you'll be late.

So make sure you take a moment to think about that before grabbing your phone while driving.