What Are the Hands-Free and Texting While Driving Laws in Texas?

Public safety official have long warned about the dangers of texting and driving. According to the most recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving activities, including texting, killed 3,450 people in 2016 alone. In light of these dangers, many states, including Texas, passed laws to protect its citizens from harm. What are the rules regarding cell phone use and texting behind the wheel in Texas?

On September 1, 2017, Texas joined most of the nation in banning texting behind the wheel. The new law addresses reading, writing, composing, or sending electronic messages such as email or texts. Citizens who violate the law can face a fine of $25-$99 for the first offense, and $100-$200 thereafter. Texas law stipulates that a person who causes a serious bodily injury or death due to texting and driving, may face up to $4000 in fines and a jail term up to one year for a Class A misdemeanor. The law does not include points on a driver’s license.

On the other hand, it’s important to note that the law only encompasses texting and emailing. In most cities in Texas, it’s still lawful to use a phone for GPS, music, and dialing a phone number. Drivers may, however, still face a traffic stop from an officer for suspicion of texting. The texting law is subject to primary enforcement, which means police officers need no other reason to pull a driver over other than suspicion of texting.

Texas does not have a statewide ban on using a cell phone behind the wheel, but many cities in the area have their own laws. For example, Austin, El Paso, and San Antonio all have citywide bans on using any mobile or wireless device while driving.

Upon the passage of the new texting and driving law, Governor Abbot attempted to roll back citywide bans on texting and driving, but was unsuccessful. For now, cities have the freedom to enforce their own bans regarding talking and other mobile device use behind the wheel.

Texas was one of the last in the nation to enforce a statewide texting ban. In fact, the only state that currently does not have any texting ban on the books is Arizona. Currently, 47 states including Texas, have a ban on texting and driving that involves all drivers. The other two only place limitations on novice drivers. The Lone Star State was the second to last state to adapt a texting and driving ban – Arizona seems poised to adopt one in the coming months.

Why did it take Texas so long to come aboard and regulate this dangerous practice? In reality, the state legislature has attempted to pass a ban four previous times, starting in 2011. In that year, the state legislature was successful in passing the ban, but the Governor at the time, Rick Perry, vetoed the measure. The other attempts that followed were unsuccessful in passing the Senate, until May of 2017. Governor Abbott approved and signed House Bill 62 into law in the summer of 2017, effective in September.

We’ve yet to see how the texting ban will affect public safety in the long term, but evidence seems to suggest that states that pass texting bans experience a reduction in the number of distracted driving related fatalities. Even if the texting ban only saves one or a few lives, the effort will be worth it. In the meantime, Texas residents should prepare to put away their phones and focus on the task of driving – unless they want to risk a ticket or other possible fines.

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