New Texas Texting While Driving Law Went into Effect in September
The new law bans texting while driving.
Texas, it is officially time to put your phone down while driving. As of September 1st, the state’s ban on texting while driving went into full effect. This means no reading, writing, or sending text messages or electronic communications while you are driving. So, the law actually goes beyond texting and bans things like messaging on Facebook, or posting on Facebook or Twitter. Texas joins 47 other states that have similar laws.
First time offenders will be fined between $25 and $99. Repeat offenders face $100 to $200 fines. No points will be assessed to the violator’s license. If the texting while driving causes an accident that results in death or serious bodily injury to another, the violator can face a Class A misdemeanor with penalties of up to $4,000 in fines and up to 1 year of jail time.
While there may be a texting bad while driving, there are several exception including:
- Texting if you are sitting at a red light;
- Texting during an emergency situation; and
- Hands free texting
So feel that the law is not strict enough and worry with problems of enforcement. Law enforcement must confirm that they saw a person on their phone while they were driving and that they were specifically texting while driving. This is a difficult task as many other phone functions are still permissible under the new law. An individual may have lawfully been accessing a GPS function or using the music player. Additionally, law enforcement officers are not permitted to search a person’s phone if they are pulled over under suspicion for texting while driving. This means, if a person chooses to fight the ticket in court, the prosecutor would have to subpoena phone records from the person’s wireless carrier. This may be unlikely to happen as it would be a lot of trouble over a small fine offense.
While there are loopholes, the Texas texting while driving ban is still in full effect. Regardless of the state of the law, however, it is always safer to put down your phone while driving. Distracted driving accounts for an alarming number of motor vehicle deaths and injuries each year. If you have been injured by a distracted driver, call experienced personal injury attorney Rob Lovett. He is here to hold these distracted drivers accountable for the damage they have caused and to get you the monetary compensation you deserve for your injuries.