{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-11-901c","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 47, § 47-11-901c","heading":"Unlawful use of cellular telephone","body":"A. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a commercial\n\nmotor vehicle or for a public transit driver to operate a motor\n\nvehicle on any street or highway within this state while:\n\n1. Using a cellular telephone or electronic communication\n\ndevice to write, send, or read a text-based communication; or\n\n2. Using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a\n\ncommercial motor vehicle.\n\nFor the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this subsection, using\n\na hand-held mobile telephone is permissible by drivers of a\n\ncommercial motor vehicle when necessary to communicate with law\n\nenforcement officials, other emergency services or by a public\n\nschool bus driver to and from a central dispatch school\n\ntransportation department or its equivalent.\n\nB. Any person who violates the provisions of subsection A of\n\nthis section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor\n\npunishable by a fine of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).\n\nC. As used in this section:\n\n1. \"Cellular telephone\" means an analog or digital wireless\n\ntelephone authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to\n\noperate in the frequency bandwidth reserved for cellular telephones;\n\n2. \"Electronic communication device\" means an electronic device\n\nthat permits the user to manually transmit a communication of\n\nwritten text by means other than through an oral transfer or wire\n\ncommunication. This term does not include a voice-activated global\n\npositioning or navigation system that is affixed to a motor vehicle;\n\n3. \"Operate\" means operating on a street or highway, including\n\nwhile temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic control\n\ndevice or other momentary delays. Operating does not include when\n\nthe driver of a commercial motor vehicle has moved the vehicle to\n\nthe side of or off a street or highway and has halted in a location\n\nwhere the vehicle can safely remain stationary;\n\n4. \"Public transit driver\" means:\n\na. any operator of a public transit vehicle owned and\n\noperated by the State of Oklahoma, any public trust\n\nauthority, county, municipality, town or city within\n\nthis state,\n\nb. any operator of a school bus or multi-passenger motor\n\nvehicle owned and approved to operate by the State\n\nDepartment of Education or any school district within\n\nthis state, or\n\nc. any operator, conductor or driver of a locomotive\n\nengine, railway car or train of cars; and\n\n5. \"Write, send, or read a text-based communication\", also\n\nknown as texting, means manually entering alphanumeric text into,\n\nsending text, or reading text from, an electronic device, and\n\nincludes, but is not limited to, short message service (SMS),\n\nemailing, instant messaging (IM), a command or request to access a\n\nWorld Wide Web page, or engaging in any other form of electronic\n\ntext retrieval or entry, for present or future communication. As\n\nused in this paragraph, texting does not include:\n\na. using voice commands to select or enter a telephone\n\nnumber, an extension number, or voicemail retrieval\n\ncodes and commands into an electronic device for the\n\npurpose of initiating or receiving a phone call,\n\nb. inputting, selecting, or reading information on a\n\nglobal positioning system or navigation system, or\n\nc. using a device capable of performing multiple\n\nfunctions for a purpose that is not otherwise\n\nprohibited in this part, including, but not limited\n\nto, fleet management systems, dispatching devices,\n\nsmart phones, citizens band radios, and music players.\n\nD. This act shall not apply to railroads and railroad operating\n\nemployees regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration.","path":["OK Code","Title 47"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os47.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"4bc3fd647848bb88e5e466e5dd71ad6617e0cda67fefe94959d14c49c887bfc5","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-11-901b","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-11-901d"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}