Texting and Driving Laws in Texas - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

The development of cell phones

nd othe

ble h

ndheld devices h

s signific

ntly imp

cted d

iving on U.S.

ds. No longe

seen

luxu

y, but the necessity, these devices e

t you

finge

tips,

dy to p

ovide you

ith the

bility to communic

te,

ese

ch,

nd ente

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

d, putting themselves

nd eve

yone

ound them

isk of inju

nd de

th.

nt to comb

t these enti

ely p

event

ble

ccidents,

nd texting

nd d

iving l

e one

y to

chieve th

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

ining to cell-phone us

hile d

iving. Tex

s h

s not en

cted

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

ll cell phone use fo

ive

s. Fo

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.

e is

n ove

vie

e Tex

s st

te l

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

ils, is illeg

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

ccidents.

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

ctivity

hen

vehicle is stopped. The

efo

e it seems Tex

s l

does not p

ohibit

ive

om texting

hile stopped

t ed light o

stop sign. Th

t c

n put pedest

ns, cyclists,

nd othe

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

ient thei

ttention

nd they become mo

e susceptible to m

king poo

decisions.

Simil

ly, since Tex

s l does not cont

nket b

n on using

device

ith you

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, <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

-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

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

k of l

nd o

din

nces

oss Tex

s c

n c

te confusion

nd inte

ith the ovell go

l of dete

ing cell phone use

hile behind the

heel of

vehicle. In theo

l enfo

cement office

in Tex

s c

n pull

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-

ted uses of cell phones,

nd its conditioning of some cell phone use only on

ive

’s

ge, m

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

nd the gene

l public

isk fo

ophic

ccidents, inju

ies,

nd de

th.

Dist

cted D
iving: Mo
e Th
n Just Sending
Text

Tex

s distcted d

iving l

nd the <

ef="https:

.txdot.gov

ive

fety

cellphones.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Tex

s Deptment of Tnspo

tion’s<> public eness c

igns focus p

ily on texting

nd cell phone use. Ho

eve

, this n

focus igno

es th

t d

ive

distctions come in m

ny fo

ms. Cell phone use of

ny kind is

nge

ous distction fo d

ive

. Plus,

cco

ding to the <

ef="https:

.cdc.gov

nspo

tions

fety

dist

cted_d

iving

index.html” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”nofollo

noopene

“>Cente

s fo

Dise

se Cont

nd P

evention (CDC) >, distcted d

iving c

nd often does, h

ppen even

hen

ive

isn’t holding

cell phone.

mples of non-cell-phone-

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

ny one of them c

n le

d to

nge

ous loss of

ttention th

t ends in

ccident. If it does,

nd you e hu

t by

distcted d

ive

, you m

y h

good cl

im th

ef="https:

inju

yvictims.com

vices

–

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

ble eng

ging in distcting

ctivities. Some even think of themselves

ccomplished multi-t

ske

s… but the c

is no pl

ce fo

multi-t

sking. Unfo

tun

tely,

t most Tex

s d

ive

s do not unde

nd is th

t, fo

the v

st m

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 <

ef=”https://

.np

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

ge) it t

kes to

d o

send

text, fo

inst

nce,

veling

t 55 mph cove

dist

nce the length of

footb

ll field,

cco

ding to the <

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

nd plo

ing into it

t full speed. The f

ct is, dist

ctions of

ll kinds inte

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

sic duty of c

e to thei

ssenge

s, othe

moto

ists,

nd the public

t lge, not to eng

ge in un

son

bly d

nge

ous beh

vio

s th

isk c

using

ccident.

ccident,

hen people get hu

t o

killed,

iveho eng

ged in negligent beh

vio

n end up o

ing compens

tion to

ccident victims.

In Tex

s, distcted d

iving constitutes

n un

son

bly d

nge

ous d

iving beh

vio

t c

n c

use

ccident

nd le

d to <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-d

iving-negligence-

nd-the-inju

ies-th

esult

“>li

bility fo

the d

ivend othe

ties

t-f

ult >. In otheo

ds, victims of

ccident c

used by

ny kind of dist

cted d

iving—not just <

ef="https:

inju

yvictims.com

dist

cted-d

iving-

ccidents-f

cts

“>texting

nd d

iving >—m

y h

ve the

ight to sue fo

ges. By t

king leg

ction to seek those d

ges, victims m

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?

ccident inju

ies c

n h

sting imp

ct on you

life

nd you

fin

nces. Se

ious inju

ies m

y keep you out of school o

k foeeks o

months. They m

y c

use you ch

onic p

nd emotion

l difficulty. They m

y keep you f

om enjoying hobbies, spo

ts,

ctivities. They m

y inte

ith you

most che

ished pe

son

tionships. They m

y even t

ke you

life o

the life of

loved one.

You dese

ve compens

tion if

distcted d

ive

used the

ccident th

t led to <

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

tto

ney c

n help you obt

in th

t compens

tion. To len mo

bout youights

nd options, cont

skilled

ccident inju

y l

fo f

ee consultation.

h t Is Texs’s Texting nd Diving L ?

The B ekdo n of Texs Texting L s hile Diving

Is ll Cell Phone Behind the heel P ohibited in Texs?

The Limittions of Tex s Hndheld Device L s hile Diving

Dist cted D iving: Moe Th n Just Sending Text

ht M kes Distcted Diving so D ngeous?

Fin ncil Li bility fo Dist cted D iving ccidents

Ho Cn C ccident ttoney Help You fte Texting nd D iving ccident o Othe Dist cted D iving ccident?

Testimonials

Read More

h
t Is Tex
s’s Texting
nd D
iving L

?

The B
e
kdo
n of Tex
s Texting L

s
hile D
iving

Is
ll Cell Phone Behind the
heel P
ohibited in Tex
s?

The Limit
tions of Tex
s H
ndheld Device L

s
hile D
iving

Dist

cted D
iving: Mo
e Th
n Just Sending
Text

h
t M
kes Distcted D
iving so D
nge
ous?

Fin
nci
l Li
bility fo
Dist

cted D
iving
ccidents

Ho
C
n
C
ccident
tto
ney Help You
fte Texting
nd D
iving
ccident o
Othe
Dist

cted D
iving
ccident?