The ban on holding cellphones while driving that begins January 1, 2025, doesn’t mean you can’t use your cellphone while driving — it just regulates how you may do so.

The fines for violating the law are hefty, starting at $85 and 2 points against the license for the first offense and going up to a maximum of $260 and 4 points for a third offense.

Colorado joins 29 other states in prohibiting the use of hand-held mobile devices while driving. States with similar laws have reported decreases in distracted driving crashes. In Michigan, a 2023 law banning hand-held cellphone use led to a 12.8% decrease in distracted driving crashes within the first year, said the Colorado Department of Transportation in a news release.

CDOT encourages drivers to acquire hands-free accessories such as dashboard mounts and car speakerphone systems to comply with the new law.

The primary prohibition is on holding your cellphone in your hand or with any part of your body while using it. Drivers are allowed to use an earpiece or headphone and voice-operation of the phone, so long as it doesn’t distract the driver from driving safely.

“This new legislation is a crucial step toward making Colorado’s roads safer for everyone,” said Shoshana Lew, executive director of CDOT. “By encouraging drivers to focus solely on the task of driving, we can reduce the number of distracted driving incidents and prevent crashes that often come with such behavior.”

To be stopped and ticketed a police officer must actually see the driver using a cellphone.

If police want to search a person who is not under arrest, or their vehicle, they must first tell the person that the request is for a voluntary consent search and that the person has the right to refuse the request to search.

Officers are not authorized by the cellphone ban law to seize a wireless telephone “unless otherwise provided by law.”

It’s also illegal for the driver to text, instant message or send emails — except by hands-free voice transcription. Watching a video or movie is prohibited.

You can look at a screen when “watching data related to the navigation of the motor vehicle,” but not to read texts, messages, or emails.

The only times you can touch or hold your phone are in emergencies and when you activate, deactivate, or initiate a hands-free feature with a “single touch or single swipe,” or unless you are parked. The prohibition includes using a device when stopped at a stoplight or stop sign.

Emergencies are defined as situations where someone “has reason to fear for the person’s life or safety,” a crime is being committed, fires, traffic accidents with apparent injuries, serious road hazards, medical or hazardous materials emergencies, or to report careless or unsafe drivers.

Another law prohibits the use of earphones while driving. Enacted in 2015, it says drivers cannot use headsets or earphones covering both ears. only single-ear devices or speakers built into protective headgear that are connected to a “wireless, handheld telephone” can be used.

Law enforcement and emergency responders are exempt, as are utility contractors, and commercial vehicles using mobile data terminals.

Not included in the definition of a mobile electronic device are citizens band, commercial two-way, or amateur radio transmitters, or built-in security, navigation, communications, or remote diagnostics system. Nor does it apply to persons with commercial driver’s licenses driving commercial vehicles. They are regulated by federal law.

On a first offense, the charge can be dismissed by a court clerk if the driver produces a hands-free accessory or proof of purchase of one.