New Hampshire

Below is a list of the key highway safety laws in New Hampshire. For more information, contact the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency .

Aggressive Driving

No state law

Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Cell Phones and Texting
Handheld Ban	All Cell Phone Ban		Text Messaging Ban			Crash Data
	School Bus Drivers	Novice Drivers	All Drivers	School Bus Drivers	Novice Drivers
			Yes (Primary)	Covered under all driver ban

Dealt with as a distracted driving issue; New Hampshire enacted a comprehensive distracted driving law.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Child Passenger Safety
Child Restraint Required unless indicated, # refers to Yrs.(Lbs.)	Adult Safety Belt Permissible unless indicated, # refers to Yrs.(Lbs.)	Maximum Fine 1st Offense
<5 (and <55")	6 - 17 (or <6 and >55")	$50

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Drug Impaired Driving
Per Se Laws for Drugs (Forbidding Prohibited Substances in Driver's Body)	DEC/DRE Programs (Providing Law Enforcement Training)
	Yes

Source: State Highway Safety Offices.

Drunk Driving
Admin. License Suspen- sion on 1st Offense	Limited Driving Privileges During Suspension	Inc. Penalty for High BAC	Open Container Laws	Repeat Offender Laws	Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions	Ignition Interlocks	Alcohol Exclusion Laws Limiting Treatment Opportunity
6 months		.16	Yes	Yes		Mandatory for high BAC convictions	Yes

Sources: Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL)
Learner Stage		Intermediate Stage			Full Privilege Min. Age (Yrs./Mos.)	Required Supervised Driving Hours (Night Hours)
Min. Age (Yrs./ Mos.)	Min. Dura- tion (Mos.)	Min. Age (Yrs./Mos.)	Night- time Driving Restriction	Passenger Restriction* (* family members exempt)
15 / 6	None	16	1 a.m. - 4 a.m. (eff. 1/11)	First 6 mos.–no more than 1 pass. <25*	Night: 17 /1	40 (10)
					Pass: 16 / 6

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Helmets
Motorcyclists			Bicyclists
Universal Helmet Law (Year Enacted)	Partial Law	Universal Helmet Law Repealed
			<16

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Mature Drivers
Length of Regular Renewal Cycle (Yrs.)	Provisions for Mature Drivers
5	>75 must take road test for renewal

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Seat Belts

New Hampshire has enacted neither a primary nor a secondary seat belt law for adults, although the state does have a primary child passenger safety law that covers children under 18.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway and State Highway Safety Offices.

Segways
Permitted on Sidewalks/Bicycle Paths	Permitted on Roads	Helmets Required	Minimum Age	Pedestrian Laws Apply
Sidewalks	Yes			Yes

Sources: Segway LLC and State Highway Safety Offices.

Sobriety Checkpoints
Checkpoints Conducted?	Comments
Yes	Weekly, weather permitting

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Speed Limits
Rural Interstates		Urban Interstates		Other Limited Access Roads
Cars (mph)	Trucks (mph)	Cars (mph)	Trucks (mph)	Cars (mph)	Trucks (mph)
65	65	65	65	55	55

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Speed and Red Light Cameras
State Law	Violations	Location	Citation Issued To / Liability	Image / Privacy	Penalties (Traditional Penalties)	Defenses
Prohibited unless specific statutory authorization	Toll enforcement

Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.

Work Zones
Multiple of Original Fine	Violations Affected	Workers Must Be Present
$250-$500	Speeding	Yes

Sources: National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse and State Highway Safety Offices.