Distracted Driving and Liability in Georgia Car Accidents
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Georgia’s hands-free law, O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241, bars drivers from physically holding or supporting a phone or similar device, and from writing, sending, or reading text-based communications, watching video, or recording video while driving on a highway, with stated exceptions. Violating it can support negligence per se in an injury claim, but the injured person still has to show the distraction caused the crash. Phone records, vehicle data, and video are how that is proved.
What the statute prohibits
Under § 40-6-241(c), while operating a motor vehicle on a highway in Georgia, no individual shall:
- Physically hold or support, with any part of the body, a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device, subject to the statute’s exceptions.
- “Write, send, or read any text based communication, including but not limited to a text message, instant message, e-mail, or Internet data” on such a device, subject to stated exceptions.
- Watch a video or movie on such a device, other than navigation data.
- Record or broadcast a video, except devices used solely to record continuously, such as a dash camera.
The statute defines a “wireless telecommunications device” to include a cell phone, a text-messaging device, a personal digital assistant, a stand-alone computer, a GPS receiver, or a substantially similar portable wireless device. The statute lists exceptions, and whether a particular use fits one turns on their wording.
From violation to liability
A violation of a rule of the road can be negligence per se: in Williams v. Calhoun (1985), the Court of Appeals called a proven violation “a prima facie showing of negligence”, shifting to the driver the burden to show it was “unintentional and in the exercise of ordinary care.” Distraction also bears on ordinary negligence without any statute, because a driver looking at a phone is not watching the road. Either way, the injured person must show the distraction caused the crash, as explained in proving negligence in a Georgia car accident.
Proving distraction
| Evidence | What it can show |
|---|---|
| Phone records from the carrier | Calls, texts, and data use at the time of the crash |
| The phone itself, by forensic examination | App activity and screen use |
| Vehicle event data | Steering and braking just before impact, consistent or not with inattention |
| Video and witnesses | A driver looking down, holding a phone |
| The driver's statements | Admissions, usable against that driver (§ 24-8-801(d)(2)(A)) |
Phone records and devices are sought through discovery. Georgia’s discovery rule reaches matters “relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action” (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-26(b)(1)), and a request tied to the time of the crash fits that test. Asking the other side early to preserve the phone and its data protects the evidence. Distraction by the injured person can also reduce recovery under the comparative fault statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33.
Sources
- O.C.G.A. §§ 9-11-26, 24-8-801, 40-6-241, 51-12-33 (text of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, November 2022 release).
- Williams v. Calhoun, 175 Ga. App. 332 (1985)
This page describes Georgia law as of October 2026 for general information. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.