Texas Distracted Driving Laws: Fines, Hands-Free Rules, and Penalties

Texas distracted driving laws prohibit reading, writing, or sending electronic messages behind the wheel statewide, with additional restrictions for drivers under 18, school zones, commercial drivers, and several major cities that ban all handheld phone use. Fines start at $25 for a first offense and climb to $4,000 plus up to a year in jail if texting causes serious injury or death.

The Statewide Texting Ban

Texas Transportation Code § 545.4251 makes it illegal to use a portable wireless device to read, write, or send an electronic message while your vehicle is moving. The statute defines “electronic message” broadly as any data entered into or read from a wireless device for the purpose of communicating with another person, which covers texts, emails, and similar digital messages.¹ Once your vehicle has come to a complete stop, messaging is legal again.

This is a primary-enforcement law. An officer who sees you looking at your screen or tapping out a message can pull you over for that alone. The statute requires only that the behavior be “committed in the presence of or within the view of a peace officer or established by other evidence,”¹ so dashcam footage, passenger testimony, or phone records can also support a citation.

What You Can Still Legally Do With Your Phone

The ban is narrower than a full phone prohibition. The statute lists several affirmative defenses you can raise if you’re cited:

Using voice-to-text, speakerphone, or another hands-free system to send or read messages.
Operating a mapping or navigation app.
Tapping a function that plays music.
Reading a message you reasonably believed was about an emergency, reporting illegal activity, or calling for emergency help.
Entering information into an app that reports traffic or road conditions to other users.
Using a device permanently or temporarily mounted in the vehicle to communicate with a dispatcher or digital network service as part of your job.

These are defenses, not blanket exemptions. If you’re cited, you have to show at trial that your use fell into one of these categories.¹ Emergency responders and FCC-licensed radio operators are fully exempt.

Fines and Jail Time

The penalty tiers under § 545.4251 escalate with your history and with the consequences of the violation:

First offense: a misdemeanor with a fine between $25 and $99.
Repeat offense (at least one prior texting conviction): a fine between $100 and $200.
Texting that causes death or serious bodily injury: a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $4,000 and up to one year in county jail.¹

Court costs and administrative fees are added on top of the fine, so the amount you actually pay usually runs higher than the base range. Texas does not use a point system for traffic violations, but a texting citation still appears on your driving record.

Stricter Rules for Drivers Under 18

Texas Transportation Code § 545.424 bans all wireless device use for drivers younger than 18, not just texting. That includes phone calls, even through a hands-free system or Bluetooth. The statute defines “wireless communication device” to cover both handheld and hands-free devices, so there is no workaround. The only exception is a genuine emergency.²

One catch that surprises parents: this is a secondary-enforcement provision. The statute explicitly says an officer “may not stop a vehicle or detain the operator of a vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether the operator” violated the under-18 phone ban. In practice, a teen gets cited only during a stop triggered by some other violation. Fines run $25 to $99 for a first offense and $100 to $200 for a repeat.²

School Crossing Zones

Texas Transportation Code § 545.425 goes further inside school crossing zones by prohibiting all handheld wireless device use while your vehicle is moving. You cannot hold a phone for a call, browse anything on-screen, or interact with a device at all unless you are using a hands-free system or your vehicle is completely stopped.³

Local authorities must post signs at each entrance to a school zone notifying drivers that phone use is prohibited and that a fine applies.⁴

City Hands-Free Ordinances

Texas has no statewide ban on holding a phone for calls or other non-messaging tasks. Several cities have filled that gap with local ordinances that ban all handheld device use behind the wheel. Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Denton, and Amarillo are among them. In those jurisdictions, dialing a number manually, holding a phone to your ear, or scrolling through an app while moving can all trigger a stop and citation.

Section 545.425 expressly contemplates local wireless-device rules and sets sign-posting requirements for cities that adopt them.³ Fines and enforcement details vary by city. If your route crosses several metro areas, the safest approach is to keep your phone mounted and use only voice or hands-free controls.

Commercial Drivers Face Federal Rules

Holders of a commercial driver’s license face a stricter federal layer on top of state law. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules at 49 CFR § 392.80 flatly prohibit texting while operating a commercial motor vehicle, with no exception for being stopped in traffic. The only permitted use is contacting emergency services.⁵ A separate rule bans all handheld mobile phone use, meaning a commercial driver cannot hold a phone to make a call, dial by pressing more than a single button, or reach for a phone in a way that requires leaving the seated driving position.⁶

Financial penalties are far steeper than state-level fines. Drivers face civil penalties up to $2,750 per violation, and employers who allow or require drivers to use a handheld device can be fined up to $11,000.⁶ These base amounts are subject to periodic inflation adjustments.

Repeat offenses trigger CDL disqualification under 49 CFR § 383.51. A second serious traffic violation within three years results in a 60-day disqualification, and a third violation within that window extends it to 120 days.⁷ Texting and handheld phone use in a commercial vehicle both count as serious traffic violations. For a driver whose livelihood depends on the CDL, even one citation creates real career risk.

Beyond the Ticket: Insurance and Civil Exposure

The fine for a first texting offense is modest, but the insurance fallout usually costs much more. A texting citation signals risky behavior to insurers, and rate increases often follow. Industry data suggests a violation can raise premiums by roughly 20 to 30 percent, depending on your insurer, your driving history, and where you live. The conviction generally stays on your record for three to five years, so you pay the higher rate over multiple renewal cycles.

A texting driver who causes a crash also faces civil liability. Because texting while driving violates a specific safety statute, Texas courts can treat the violation itself as evidence of negligence. That effectively removes the injured person’s burden of separately proving carelessness once the statutory violation is established. The plaintiff still has to connect the texting to the crash and show actual damages.

Employers carry exposure too. If an employee causes a texting-related crash while performing job duties, the employer can be held liable under respondeat superior. Companies whose workers drive have strong incentive to adopt clear no-phone policies and enforce them, especially where the job would otherwise encourage phone use behind the wheel.

1
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Section 545.4251 – Use of Portable Wireless Communication Device for Electronic Messaging
2
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Section 545.424 – Operation of Vehicle by Person Under 18 Years of Age
3
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Section 545.425 – Use of Wireless Communication Device in a School Crossing Zone
4
Texas Department of Transportation. Sign Guidelines and Applications Manual – Cell Phone Use Prohibited Signs (Within School Zone)
5
eCFR. 49 CFR 392.80 – Prohibition Against Texting
6
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Mobile Phone Restrictions Fact Sheet
7
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 383 Subpart D – Driver Disqualifications and Penalties