Restrictions Spread on Smartphone Use in Cars

Keep it out of view

Arizona, Montana and South Carolina are the only states left without distracted driving laws, after a three-year span when lawmakers in other states cracked down on drivers who talk, text or browse on mobile devices.

And drivers in those three hold-out states should still beware. Police in Arizona can ticket distracted motorists for reckless driving, and municipalities in Montana and South Carolina have enacted their own bans.

Lawmakers are especially targeting drivers who send text messages. The number of states that ban all texting while driving jumped from 28 in 2010 to 41 now, the Governors Highway Safety Association reported Wednesday.