Alabama may seem like it’s tucked away in the heart of America, but it’s right on the ball when it comes to keeping up with driving safety rules.

To begin with, no driver in Alabama is allowed to text behind the wheel. The state does allow the use of handheld devices, which means you can still talk on cell phone behind the wheel, but if you are spotted by police trying to type, or text, or read an email, cops are empowered to pull you over and write you a citation on the spot.

And while Alabama does allow someone as young as 15 to obtain a learner’s driving permit, it completely forbids them and drivers who are 16 or 17 years old (who have had their license for less than 6 months) from using a handheld device at all while behind the wheel. This is way ahead of the curve and demonstrates that Alabama traffic safety officials recognize and appreciate the studies which show that the leading of cause of death for young people in America are vehicle collisions and that this same age demographic is most likely to be using a handheld device at any given time of the day, regardless of what they might be doing at the time.

Alabama also recognizes that while distracted driving is getting all the media attention these days, drunk driving is no less deadly than it has ever been. The state of Alabama requires a mandatory 90 day license suspension for anyone caught drunk driving on their first offense, with no opportunity for a reprieve.

If you want to learn more about Alabama state driving laws.