Could New Regulations Affect Cell Phones in Cars?
Texas remains one of only four states that do not ban texting while driving, along with Arizona, Montana and Missouri. Last month, Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, introduced bills for consideration in the upcoming legislative session that begins in January that would make texting while driving a crime.
This is the fourth time Rep. Craddick has introduced such a bill. In the last legislature, a similar measure failed in the state senate by only one vote, and in the session before that, Gov. Rick Perry vetoed one.
Some Texas cities ban the practice
We last discussed distracted driving this summer, when we reported that despite no state-wide ban, more than 60 Texas municipalities at that time banned the practice by city ordinance. Now, that number has risen to more than 90 Texas cities that prohibit texting while driving within their boundaries, according to the Texas Department of Transportation website.
Cities in the Lone Star State with texting-while-driving ordinances include Galveston, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Missouri City, Bellaire, Deer Park, Shoreacres, Tomball, West University Place, McAllen, Mission, Harlingen, Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Midland and San Antonio.
Texting is a driving distraction
Texting while driving is obviously a public safety issue and a statewide ban has the potential to save lives. Texting while driving is a type of distracted driving, meaning anything that takes the driver’s eyes off the road, hands off the wheel or concentration off the task of driving. Texas DOT says that more than 100,000 crashes annually in the Lone Star State involve some kind of distracted driving.
Two sobering federal data points are often cited in the media. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or FMCSA reports that texting while driving increases the chance by 23 times of a “safety-critical event.” In addition, when a driver takes his or her eyes off the road for 5 seconds to text, at 55 mph, the vehicle moves the length of a football field without the driver looking at the road.
Current restrictions on cell phones behind the wheel
Current laws do restrict some cell phone use by drivers in Texas. For example, federal law prohibits commercial drivers from using cell phones, including texting, while driving. State law provisions include:
- Bus drivers with minor passengers on board may not use cell phones in any way, including texting, unless they are stopped or in emergencies.
- Drivers under 18 may not use cell phones in any way, including texting, except in emergencies.
- With narrow exception, drivers may not use cell phones in any way, including texting, in school zones.
The proposed bill
The bill would make reading, writing or sending a message on a mobile phone while driving a crime, unless the car is stopped first, an “illegal activity” is being reported or to request help in an emergency. An email could be read if there is a reasonable belief that it concerns an emergency. Hands-free cellular phones could be used via voice, but not for emailing or texting while driving.
Narrow exceptions exist for use in certain jobs and for law enforcement and emergency vehicles.
Anyone found to have violated the texting ban would be subject to relatively minor fines and the violation would not result in points being added to the driver’s license. Still, however, a conviction for texting while driving would likely be relevant in a civil lawsuit for injuries caused by an accident that occurred while the driver texted.
Advocates for those injured in motor vehicle accidents will watch the progress of these bills with interest. In the meantime, anyone injured in a motor vehicle accident should speak with an attorney about potential legal remedies like a personal injury lawsuit. If the other driver was texting while driving, legal questions arise like whether he or she was driving negligently, recklessly or in violation of a city ordinance, and the answers may have impact on liability in a civil lawsuit.
