News & opinion Texting and Driving Laws in Texas

Texting and Driving Laws in Texas

TX Distracted Driving Lawyers

The development of cell phones

nd othe

po

t

ble h

ndheld devices h

s signific

ntly imp

cted d

iving on U.S.

o

ds. No longe

seen

s

luxu

y, but the necessity, these devices e

l

ys

t you

finge

tips,

e

dy to p

ovide you

ith the

bility to communic

te,

ese

ch,

nd ente

t

in

t

ny given moment. Unfo

tun

tely, some people include d

iving time in those moments. M

ny d

ive

s get distcted by thei

mobile devices

hen thei

full focus should be on the

o

d, putting themselves

nd eve

yone

ound them

t

isk of inju

y

nd de

th.

e

nt to comb

t these enti

ely p

event

ble

ccidents,

nd texting

nd d

iving l

s

e one

y to

chieve th

t.

Texting

hile D

iving Is

Se

ious Th

e

t to

o

d S

fety<

h2>
The U.S.

lone s 3,142 de

ths

el

ted to dist

cted d

iving in ecent ye,

s

epo

ted by the <

h

ef=”https://

.nhts

.gov/

isky-d

iving/dist

cted-d

iving" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">N

tion

l Highy S

fety

dministtion (NHTS

) >. Distcted d

iving-

el

ted f

t

lities c

n h

ppen

hen d

ive

s lose concenttion gl

ncing

y f

om the

o

d

t

sc

een fo

just

fe

seconds. This senseless loss of life is

lmost

l

ys p

event

ble.

No one is immune f

om the tempt

tions of sne

king

peek

t

sc

een

hile d

iving.

h

t s once p

im

ily conside

ed

beh

vio

eng

ged in by <

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

t

nspo

t

tions

fety

dist

cted_d

iving

index.html#:~:text=

ho%20is%20most%20

t%20

isk%20fo

%20dist

cted%20d

iving%3F,-Young%20

dult%20

nd&

mp;text=In%20the%20U.S.%20in%202018%3

,young%20

dults%20

ged%2020%E2%80%9329.&

mp;text=D

ive

s%20

ged%2015%2D19%20

e

e,in%20cshes%20

he

e%20someone%20died" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">iesponsible,

isk-t

king teen

ge

s<> h

s no

bloomed into

p

oblem th

t sp

ns

ll gene

tions of d

ive

s

nd sc

een use

s.

hile teen

ge

s

nd ne

d

ive

s still

ep

esent the highest-

isk g

oup,

dults of

ll

ges f

equently eng

ge in fo

ms of dist

cted d

iving th

t involve cell phone use.

Seeking to

educe the f

equency of t

gic

ccidents

el

ted to texting

nd d

iving, m

ny st

tes h

ve en

cted st

ict

nti-texting

nd d

iving ls

nd h

ve l

unched c

mp

igns to encou

ge d

ive

s to focus on

o

d s

fety

hile t

veling. Cu

ently,<

h

ef=”https://

.ghs

.o

g

st

te-ls

issues/dist

cted%20d

iving" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

"> 48 of the 50 United St

tes h

ve outled texting

nd d

iving<>. 25 st

tes h

ve

lso t

ken those ls to the next level by p

ohibiting

ny use of h

nd-held devices

hile d

iving.

hile the en

ctment of these l

s is

step in the

ight di

ection to lo

e

the incidence of distcted d

iving inju

ies

nd f

t

lities, texting

nd d

iving continues to constitute

seve

e th

e

t to the s

fety of d

ive

s

nd p

ssenge

s on Tex

s

o

dys.

h

t Is Tex

s’s Texting

nd D

iving L

?

Tex

s cuently h

s seve

l l

s on the books pe

t

ining to cell-phone us

ge

hile d

iving. Tex

s h

s not en

cted

bl

nket b

n on h

ndheld device us

ge behind the

heel, but nume

ous individu

l city o

din

nces th

oughout the Lone St St

te do b

n

ll cell phone use fo

d

ive

s. Fo

th

t

e

son,

ll d

ive

s should get f

mili not only

ith Tex

s cell phone ls, but

lso

ith those of the loc

l ju

isdictions they m

y p

ss th

ough on thei

jou

neys.

He

e is

n ove

vie

of

he

e Tex

s st

te l

st

nds on the subject of using

mobile device

hile d

iving.

The B

e

kdo

n of Tex

s Texting L

s

hile D

iving

  • i

    -level="1"><

    h

    ef="https:

    /codes.findl

    .com/tx/t

    nspo

    t

    tion-code/t

    nsp-sect-545-4251.html” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”nofollo

    noopene

    “>It is illeg

    l to text

    hile behind the

    heel of

    moving c

    in Tex

    s<>. This is specified

    s the

    ct of sending oeceiving mess

    ges

    hile d

    iving.

  • i

    -level="1">

    ll h

    ndheld device use is b

    nned

    hile d

    iving th

    ough

    school zone.

  • i

    -level="1">

    ny d

    iveith

    le

    ne

    ’s pe

    mit c

    nnot use

    cell phone in

    ny m

    nne

    hile d

    iving du

    ing thei

    fi

    st 6 months of d

    iving.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">

    ll d

    ive

    s younge

    th

    n 18 ye

    s of

    ge e b

    nned f

    om the use of

    ny h

    ndheld device

    hile d

    iving.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Bus d

    ive

    s c

    nnot use thei

    cell phones in

    ny m

    nnehile the

    e

    e child

    en on the bus they e d

    iving.

Is

ll Cell Phone Behind the

heel P

ohibited in Tex

s?

No.

lthough mess

ging, such

s sending texts o

em

ils, is illeg

l

hile opeting

moving moto

vehicle in Tex

s, the l

still pe

mits othections involving cell phone use th

t c

n le

d to d

nge

ous dist

ctions

nd

ccidents.

Fo

inst

nce, Tex

s’s texting

nd d

iving l only p

ohibits texting

nd d

iving

hile opeting

moving vehicle. It exp

essly pe

mits, ho

eve

, th

t s

me

ctivity

hen

vehicle is stopped. The

efo

e it seems Tex

s l

does not p

ohibit

d

ive

f

om texting

hile stopped

t ed light o

stop sign. Th

t c

n put pedest

i

ns, cyclists,

nd othe

s

t

isk of

ccidents

t inte

sections, bec

use d

ive

s lose focus

hile texting. Once th

t t

ffic light tu

ns g

een,  they must

eo

ient thei

ttention

nd they become mo

e susceptible to m

king poo

decisions.

Simil

ly, since Tex

s l does not cont

in

bl

nket b

n on using

device

ith you

h

nds

hile d

iving, the l

ppe

s not to p

ohibit d

ive

s f

om using

cell phone to t

lk on the phone, <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

c

-technology-dist

cted-d

iving

“>p

ogm

GPS >, o

even pl

y music

hile thei

vehicle is in motion.

s mentioned, some cities h

ve en

cted b

ns on these

ctivities, but the l

ck of

st

te l p

ohibition me

ns th

t m

ny e

s of the st

te l

ck me

ningful

est

ictions on eng

ging in d

nge

ous, dist

cted d

iving beh

vio

s involving cell phone use.

The Limit

tions of Tex

s H

ndheld Device L

s

hile D

iving

The loopholes

nd p

tch

o

k of l

s

nd o

din

nces

c

oss Tex

s c

n c

e

te confusion

nd inte

fe

e

ith the ovell go

l of dete

ing cell phone use

hile behind the

heel of

vehicle. In theo

y,

l enfo

cement office

in Tex

s c

n pull

d

ive

ove

nd issue

cit

tion fo

texting

nd d

iving. Unfo

tun

tely, the l’s pe

missiveness in te

ms of othe

, non-mess

ging-

el

ted uses of cell phones,

nd its conditioning of some cell phone use only on

d

ive

’s

ge, m

ke

e

l-

o

ld enfo

cement difficult

nd inconsistent. In pctice, ide viety of d

nge

ous use of sc

een-b

sed devices h

ppens eve

y d

y in Tex

s, putting d

ive

s, p

ssenge

s,

nd the gene

l public

t

isk fo

c

t

st

ophic

ccidents, inju

ies,

nd de

th.

Dist

cted D

iving: Mo

e Th

n Just Sending

Text

Tex

s distcted d

iving l

s

nd the <

h

ef="https:

/

.txdot.gov

d

ive

/s

fety

cellphones.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Tex

s Deptment of Tnspo

t

tion’s<> public eness c

mp

igns focus p

im

ily on texting

nd cell phone use. Ho

eve

, this n

o

focus igno

es th

t d

ive

distctions come in m

ny fo

ms. Cell phone use of

ny kind is

d

nge

ous distction fo d

ive

. Plus,

cco

ding to the <

h

ef="https:

/

.cdc.gov

t

nspo

t

tions

fety

dist

cted_d

iving

index.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Cente

s fo

Dise

se Cont

ol

nd P

evention (CDC) >, distcted d

iving c

n,

nd often does, h

ppen even

hen

d

ive

isn’t holding

cell phone.

Ex

mples of non-cell-phone-

el

ted distcted d

iving include:

  • i

    -level="1">P

    og

    mming

    d

    shbo

    d GPS o

    tuning

    d

    shbod dio<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">T

    lking to

    p

    ssenge

    , especi

    lly someone in

    e

    se

    t<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">

    e

    ching fon object on the floo
  • i

    -level="1">E

    ting o

    d

    inking

  • i

    -level="1">Checking h

    i

    o

    m

    keup in

    viso

    o

    h

    ndheld mio
  • i

    -level="1">Pl

    ying music too loud to he

    sounds outside the c

  • i

    -level="1">Singing

    long to music too-enthusi

    stic

    lly (

    .k.

    ., “

    ocking out” behind the

    heel)

hile none of these beh

vio

s e exp

essly illeg

l in Tex

s,

ny one of them c

n le

d to

d

nge

ous loss of

ttention th

t ends in

n

ccident. If it does,

nd you e hu

t by

distcted d

ive

, you m

y h

ve

good cl

im th

t

<

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>c

ccident lye

> c

n pu

sue fo

you.

h

t M

kes Distcted D

iving so D

nge

ous?

Lots of Tex

ns spend hou

s in thei

vehicles eve

y d

y. They become so

ccustomed to d

iving

nd conside

themselves so expe

ienced behind the

heel th

t they st

t to feel comfo

t

ble eng

ging in distcting

ctivities. Some even think of themselves

s

ccomplished multi-t

ske

s… but the c

is no pl

ce fo

multi-t

sking. Unfo

tun

tely,

h

t most Tex

s d

ive

s do not unde

st

nd is th

t, fo

the v

st m

jo

ity of us, the

e is no such thing

s s

fe dist

cted d

iving. (In f

ct, multi-t

sking itself is most likely

myth <

h

ef=”https://

.np

.o

g

2013/05/10/182861382/the-myth-of-multit

sking" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">

cco

ding to

ese

che

s<>.) In the five seconds (on

ve

ge) it t

kes to

e

d o

send

text, fo

inst

nce,

c

t

veling

t 55 mph cove

s

dist

nce the length of

footb

ll field,

cco

ding to the <

h

ef=”https://

.tdi.tex

s.gov/pubs/video

esou

ce/fsd

ivdistct.pdf" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">Tex

s Dep

tment of Insu

nce >. Th

t’s mo

e th

n enough dist

nce

nd time to m

ke the diffe

ence bet

een stopping fo tffic j

m up

he

d

nd plo

ing into it

t full speed. The f

ct is, dist

ctions of

ll kinds inte

fe

e

ith th

ee bin

body functions c

uci

l to keeping cont

ol of

vehicle:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Vision. ong> S

    fe d

    iving

    equi

    es keeping you

    eyes on the

    o

    d

    he

    d. D

    ive

    s

    ho get distcted

    nd look

    y f

    om the

    o

    d lose visu

    l eness of d

    iving conditions

    nd thei

    o

    n vehicle’s speed, di

    ection of t

    vel,

    nd p

    oximity to othe

    vehicles

    nd

    o

    dside objects.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>M

    nu

    l cont

    ol.<

    st

    ong> One of the fi

    st lessons

    e len

    s d

    ive

    s is to keep both h

    nds on the

    heel. Dist

    ctions h

    ve

    y of p

    ompting us to b

    e

    k th

    t c

    din

    l

    ule,

    esulting in

    n immedi

    te

    nd un

    void

    ble dec

    e

    se in the

    mount of cont

    ol

    e exe

    cise ove

    ou

    vehicles. The time it t

    kes to

    etu

    n ou

    h

    nds to the

    heel

    nd

    eg

    in the necessy cont

    ol c

    n me

    n the diffe

    ence bet

    een life

    nd de

    th.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Cognitive

    eness. ong> Fin

    lly, s

    fe d

    ive

    s need thei

    minds to st

    y focused on the t

    sk of d

    iving s

    fely. It’s e

    sy to m

    ke the mist

    ke of thinking th

    t

    e’

    e “expe

    t” d

    ive

    s once

    e’ve spent

    fe

    hund

    ed hou

    s behind the

    heel. Ho

    eve

    , even the most se

    soned d

    ive

    needs to st

    y

    le

    t

    nd

    ttuned to the countless, const

    nt decisions th

    t go into s

    fely ope

    ting

    vehicle. Distctions c

    n effectively tu

    n-off the pts of ou

    b

    ins th

    t m

    ke those decisions, le

    ving us d

    nge

    ously vulneble to mist

    kes

    nd the

    ccidents th

    t follo

    .

Consequences of Dist

cted D

iving<

h2>
The t

gic p

tte

n of

ccidents on Tex

s

o

ds

esults, in pt, f

om the

elentless tug of distctions fo

d

ive

s of

ll

ges,

hich h

ve only inc

e

sed

s cell phones

nd othe

sc

een-b

sed devices h

ve int

uded on ou

lives.

It is estim

ted th

t 100 people die e

ch d

y

c

oss the United St

tes in

ccidents

el

ted to dist

cted d

iving. In Tex

s

lone, the Tex

s Dep

tment of T

nspo

t

tion

epo

ted th

t in 2019 ove

97,000 of the st

te’s

ccidents

e

e due to d

ive

dist

ction. Of those

ccidents, 378 individu

ls lost thei

lives

nd

pp

oxim

tely 2,500 people sust

ined se

ious inju

ies.

These senseless de

ths

nd c

t

st

ophic inju

ies inflict seve

e physic

l, emotion

l,

nd fin

nci

l suffe

ing on Tex

ns. It is up to

ll of us to do ou

p

t to t

y to p

event them. One

y to do th

t is to hold distcted d

ive

s fin

nci

lly

ccount

ble foctions th

t

esult in

ccidents, inju

ies,

nd losses.

Fin

nci

l Li

bility fo

Dist

cted D

iving

ccidents

ll d

ive

s—no m

tte

theige, level of expe

ience, o

skill

t the

heel—o

e

b

sic duty of c

e to thei

p

ssenge

s, othe

moto

ists,

nd the public

t lge, not to eng

ge in un

e

son

bly d

nge

ous beh

vio

s th

t

isk c

using

n

ccident.

In

n

ccident,

hen people get hu

t o

killed,

d

iveho eng

ged in negligent beh

vio

c

n end up o

ing compens

tion to

ccident victims.

In Tex

s, distcted d

iving constitutes

n un

e

son

bly d

nge

ous d

iving beh

vio

th

t c

n c

use

n

ccident

nd le

d to <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-d

iving-negligence-

nd-the-inju

ies-th

t-

esult

“>li

bility fo

the d

ivend othe

p

ties

t-f

ult >. In otheo

ds, victims of

n

ccident c

used by

ny kind of dist

cted d

iving—not just <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-d

iving-

ccidents-f

cts

“>texting

nd d

iving >—m

y h

ve the

ight to sue fo

d

m

ges. By t

king leg

l

ction to seek those d

m

ges, victims m

y

eceive compens

tion fo

:

  • i

    -level="1">Medic

    l expenses

    el

    ted to p

    st, cuent,

    nd futu

    e ce

    el

    ted to

    n

    ccident inju

    y

  • i

    -level="1">Othe

    expenses incu

    ed bec

    use of

    dist

    cted d

    iving

    ccident, such

    s the cost of

    ep

    i

    ing o

    epl

    cing d

    m

    ged p

    ope

    ty<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">Loss of income

    nd

    ges

    esulting f

    om missing

    o

    k bec

    use of

    n

    ccident inju

    y, o

    bec

    use of

    dis

    bility th

    t p

    events you f

    om eveetu

    ning

    o

    k

  • i

    -level="1">Physic

    l p

    in, emotion

    l suffe

    ing, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of comp

    nionship of

    loved one,

    nd othe

    non-monety d

    m

    ges<

    li>

Ho

C

n

C

ccident

tto

ney Help You

fte Texting

nd D

iving

ccident o

Othe

Dist

cted D

iving

ccident?

C

ccident inju

ies c

n h

ve

l

sting imp

ct on you

life

nd you

fin

nces. Se

ious inju

ies m

y keep you out of school o

o

k foeeks o

months. They m

y c

use you ch

onic p

in

nd emotion

l difficulty. They m

y keep you f

om enjoying hobbies, spo

ts,

nd

ctivities. They m

y inte

fe

e

ith you

most che

ished pe

son

l

el

tionships. They m

y even t

ke you

life o

the life of

loved one.

You dese

ve compens

tion if

distcted d

ive

c

used the

ccident th

t led to <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-t

uck-d

ive

s-c

n-inju

e-people

“>these so

ts of inju

ies >.

n expe

ienced Tex

s moto

vehicle

ccident inju

y

tto

ney c

n help you obt

in th

t compens

tion. To len mo

e

bout youights

nd options, cont

ct

skilled

ccident inju

y l

ye

fo f

ee consultation.

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