As Texans recover from Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall Aug. 25, some drivers may not be aware that, as of Sept. 1, a new statewide ban on texting while operating a motor vehicle was put into effect. The new law creates a misdemeanor offense for those who are in violation of reading, writing and sending messages on a cell phone while driving.
Talking on a hand-held mobile phone is still legal for the most part, although some cities have issued ordinances limiting the use to hands-free devices. Go to the Texas Department of Transportation to find out which cities have an ordinance in place for talking on a cell phone while driving.
Another statewide restriction to note: all drivers in active school zones are prohibited from talking on the phone without a hands-free device.
Cell phones may still be used for GPS navigation and music applications. It is also not considered a violation if a driver is stopped at a red light and checks the phone because the vehicle is not being operated.
Penalties can range from $25 to $99 for first time offenders and from $100 to $200 for repeat offenders. If an accident is caused by distracted driving, the driver may be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, a fine up to $4,000 and possibly jail confinement for up to a year.
Literature major Erin Bates said the texting ban is long overdue, but is curious to see how law officials will enforce it.
“Enforcement seems like a really difficult thing to do,” Bates said. “My big concern is how are they going to catch you doing it, how are they going to prove that you did it and how are they going to make it stick.”
Allen Hill, UHCL Chief of Police, agreed that the law in its current form may be difficult to enforce due to the speed of vehicles and determining what is going on inside. If law enforcement suspects texting and driving is occurring, the driver may be pulled over. Officers will be looking for drivers with their heads down and swerving vehicles.
Hill suggests drivers take precautions to avoid being distracted.
“If you are concerned about being stopped, I suggest using apps like Siri, Bixby, other various apps or voice recognition apps that allow you to control your phone hands-free via verbal commands,” Hill said. “I suggest pulling over to the side of the road or in a parking lot if reading, writing or sending a message can’t wait.”
AT&T’s “It Can Wait” campaign research show that 95 percent of drivers disapprove of distracted driving, yet 71 percent of drivers continue to engage in those activities.
Distracted driving accidents killed 455 people in 2016 and more than 3,000 were seriously injured in the state of Texas.
“7-in-10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving, and 62 percent keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving,” said an AT&T company spokesperson (company policy dictates not providing names for attribution).
The “It Can Wait” campaign is dedicated to spreading the movement that distracted driving is never OK. To take the pledge to never drive distracted head to www.itcanwait.com.
A few apps have been created to deter texting while driving, including:
- AT&T DriveMode: This is a free app that silences calls and texts while a vehicle is in motion. The app will also send automatic texts informing people you are driving.
- DriveSafe.ly: The app will read incoming messages and emails to the driver. Another feature is that it will let you respond back by voice.
- LifeSaver: The app uses GPS monitoring to track vehicle motion. One feature sends a text to a loved one notifying them you made it safely to your destination.
Texas has attempted to pass the ban four times as of now. With the law finally passed, Texas is the forty-seventh state to make it illegal to text and drive.
“Taking your eyes off the road for just one second is all it takes to cause an accident,” Hill said. “And it’s just not worth taking that chance.”
Check out the app called Text To Ticket. It pays your to report people who text and drive. Then they forward it to local law enforcement. Just like red light traffic camera companies – but this is crowdsourced!!!
Texting is not just a “teen” problem. There are millions of employees who seek to do work while behind the wheel. Fleet vehicles/company cars are on the road more than teen drivers. They “multi-task” becoming very distracted. The State wants to increase fees and fines, but there is a tech way to stop these distraction. There are apps to block you using your phone when you drive, as your article has stated.
One area that is rarely discussed is that each state has hundreds of State vehicles that inspectors, regulators and the agricultural department use as fleet vehicles, but they do not have the technology to diminish distracted driving. I would love to see one state lead by example and use a program, like FleetMode, to block texts, redirect incoming phone calls, and impede all other apps in the State vehicles. If we want our state roads to be safer, let’s start by making our state vehicles safer.
FYI, the link to the Texas Department of Transportation does not actually show the cities that have hands-free laws; they show an outdated list of cities which passed distracted driving ordinances before the new statewide law went into effect, including ones which only covered texting and driving and are thus now preempted by the state law. For a more-accurate list, see http://www.jrlawfirm.com/blog/texas-texting-and-driving-laws/.