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Distracted Driving and Cell Phones in Texas: What a Houston Car Accident Claim Has to Prove

February 16, 2022

Written and legally reviewedWritten by Sam A. Maida, Jr., Owner and Managing Attorney · Reviewed by Bernard G. Johnson III, Litigation Managing Attorney

Published February 16, 2022 · Last updated October 5, 2026

Part of Houston Distracted Driving Claims · see also Texting and Driving: What's the Law in Texas? · Eating While Driving Accidents · Texting While Driving Accident · Grooming Car Accidents

It is an offense in Texas to use a portable wireless device to read, write or send an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is stopped (Tex. Transp. Code § 545.4251(b)). In 2024, 380 people were killed in Texas crashes involving distracted driving, a 5.71 percent decrease from 2023, according to the Texas Department of Transportation crash facts for 2024.

If a driver on a phone hit you in Houston, the injury claim turns on two things: showing that the driver was not paying attention, and showing what the crash cost you. This article covers what the Texas phone laws say and how phone use is shown after a crash. The wider picture, including eating, grooming and other distractions, is on our distracted driving page.

The short version

Messaging while driving is an offense unless the vehicle is stopped (§ 545.4251(b)); the fine is $25 to $99, or $100 to $200 for a repeat conviction.
If it causes death or serious bodily injury it is a Class A misdemeanor: a fine of up to $4,000 and up to one year in jail (§ 545.4251(f)).
Drivers under 18 may not use a wireless device at all while driving, except in an emergency (§ 545.424(a)).
Truck and bus drivers are barred by federal rule from texting and from holding a phone while driving (49 C.F.R. §§ 392.80, 392.82).
Two years to file an injury suit (§ 16.003(a)); nothing is recoverable above 50 percent responsibility (§ 33.001).

Driver looking down at a phone held in one hand while steering with the other — A driver reading a phone while the car is moving.

Is it illegal to text and drive in Texas?

Yes. A driver commits an offense by using a portable wireless communication device to read, write or send an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is stopped. Stricter rules apply to drivers under 18, to anyone in a school crossing zone, and to commercial truck and bus drivers.

Texas and federal rules on phones behind the wheel
Who	What is prohibited	Where it is written
Any driver	Reading, writing or sending an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is stopped. Fine of $25 to $99; $100 to $200 after an earlier conviction	Transp. Code § 545.4251(b), (e)
Any driver whose messaging causes death or serious bodily injury	Class A misdemeanor: a fine of up to $4,000 and confinement in jail for up to one year	Transp. Code § 545.4251(f)
A driver under 18	Using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle, except in case of emergency	Transp. Code § 545.424(a)
Any driver in a school crossing zone	Using a wireless communication device unless the vehicle is stopped or the device is used hands-free	Transp. Code § 545.425(b)
The driver of a commercial motor vehicle	Texting while driving, and using a hand-held mobile telephone while driving. The motor carrier may not allow or require either	49 C.F.R. §§ 392.80, 392.82

Sources: Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 545; 49 C.F.R. § 392.80 and § 392.82 (2025 annual edition). Read October 5, 2026.

What can a driver do on a phone without breaking the texting law?

The statute lists defenses. They include using the phone with a hands-free device, using it for navigation, reporting illegal activity or calling for emergency help, reading a message the driver reasonably believed concerned an emergency, and starting music. The offense itself applies only while the vehicle is moving.

The full list is in § 545.4251(c). It also covers entering information into an app that reports traffic and road conditions, and a device fixed to the vehicle that a driver uses to communicate with a dispatcher or a digital network as part of the job.

None of that settles an injury claim. A ticket under the statute and a civil claim for damages are separate questions: the claim asks whether the driver used ordinary care, and a driver can be lawfully following a map on a screen and still fail to see the car stopped ahead. The details of our page on electronic device use apply here too.

How is phone use proved after a crash?

Usually from several sources together: what the officer recorded in the crash report, what witnesses and other drivers saw, the at-fault driver’s own statements, and phone and carrier records obtained once a lawsuit is filed. For a commercial vehicle, the company’s own records and devices add to that.

An officer who investigates a crash involving injury, death or at least $1,000 in apparent damage files a written report within 10 days (Tex. Transp. Code § 550.062(a)-(b)), and a person involved in the crash can buy a copy. The statute on messaging itself recognises that the conduct may be “established by other evidence” when an officer did not see it (§ 545.4251(b)).

Write down what you saw as soon as you can: where the other driver was looking, whether a phone was in a hand, and the names and numbers of anyone who stopped. Records held by a phone company or stored on a phone are not kept forever, which is one reason these claims benefit from early attention. Our earlier article on distracted driving accidents in Houston describes the other forms distraction takes.

How does the other driver’s distraction affect what I can recover?

It goes to fault. The judge or jury assigns each person a percentage of responsibility; you recover nothing if yours is greater than 50 percent, and otherwise your damages are reduced by your share. Damages meant to punish are available only on clear and convincing evidence of fraud, malice or gross negligence.

The percentage rules are in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, § 33.003(a) and § 33.012(a). Compensation covers economic damages, defined as “actual economic or pecuniary loss,” and noneconomic damages such as physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and physical impairment (§ 41.001(4), (12)).

Exemplary damages are a separate matter with a higher burden. Under § 41.003(a) they may be awarded only if the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the harm resulted from fraud, malice or gross negligence, and the statute says that burden is not met by evidence of ordinary negligence. Whether a particular driver’s phone use reaches that level is a question for an attorney who has seen the evidence.

How long do I have to file a claim against a distracted driver?

Two years in most cases. Texas requires a suit for personal injury to be brought not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. The same two-year period applies to a claim for an injury that results in death, counted from the date of death.

Both periods are in § 16.003(a) and (b). The deadline is for filing suit, not for opening an insurance claim, and an insurer’s handling of a claim does not extend it. If the driver was working at the time, in a company car or a commercial truck, the employer may be a party as well; our truck accident page explains how those cases differ, and the Houston car accident page covers the claim process as a whole.

Questions people ask about phones and crashes in Texas

Can I use my phone for directions while driving in Texas?

The messaging statute makes it an affirmative defense that the driver used the device to navigate using a global positioning system or navigation system (Transportation Code § 545.4251(c)(2)). A driver under 18 may not use a wireless communication device while driving except in an emergency (§ 545.424(a)).

Is it illegal to read a text at a red light?

The offense in § 545.4251(b) applies to a driver who reads, writes or sends an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle “unless the vehicle is stopped.” In a school crossing zone, a separate section bars using a wireless device unless the vehicle is stopped or the device is hands-free (§ 545.425(b)).

How many people died in distracted driving crashes in Texas in 2024?

380 people were killed in crashes involving distracted driving in 2024, a 5.71 percent decrease from 2023, according to the Texas Department of Transportation’s crash facts for calendar year 2024 (reports received as of April 9, 2025).

What if the driver who hit me was driving a commercial truck?

Federal rules add to the Texas statute. No driver may text while driving a commercial motor vehicle and no driver may use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving one, and a motor carrier may not allow or require its drivers to do either (49 C.F.R. §§ 392.80, 392.82).

Can an officer ticket a driver for texting if the officer did not see it?

The statute says that, to be prosecuted, the behavior must be committed in the presence of or within the view of a peace officer “or established by other evidence” (Transportation Code § 545.4251(b)).

Maida Law Firm has represented injured people from its Houston office since 1993. If a driver on a phone hit you, call (713) 785-9484 or describe what happened on the contact page.