Texas Transportation Code 545: Driving Rules, Penalties, and Ticket Costs

Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545 is the state’s main set of driving rules, governing speed, right-of-way, passing, lane use, signaling, following distance, school bus stops, texting, reckless driving, and street racing. Most routine traffic tickets in Texas trace back to a specific section inside this chapter. When a section doesn’t spell out its own penalty, the default fine runs from $1 to $200 under Section 542.401, plus court costs.¹ A handful of offenses carry much steeper consequences, including jail time and felony charges when someone gets hurt.

Speed Limits

Two overlapping speed standards apply in Texas. Section 545.351 sets a “reasonable and prudent” rule: you cannot drive faster than conditions safely allow.² Rain, fog, heavy traffic, a winding road, or a hill crest can make a legal speed still too fast. If an officer concludes your speed was unsafe for conditions, you can be ticketed even without exceeding the sign.

Section 545.352 then sets default limits that apply unless a posted sign says otherwise:

30 mph on streets in urban districts (not counting alleys)
15 mph in alleys and on beaches
70 mph on numbered state or U.S. highways outside urban areas, including farm-to-market roads
60 mph on unnumbered highways outside urban areas

Driving above these thresholds creates a legal presumption that your speed was unreasonable. You can rebut that presumption by proving the speed was safe for conditions, but in practice that argument rarely succeeds.³

Speeding tickets fall under the general traffic penalty of $1 to $200.¹ Court costs and surcharges often double or triple the base fine, so a $150 ticket can push close to $400 by the time everything settles.

Right-of-Way at Intersections

Section 545.151 handles yielding at intersections. At an intersection with no signs or signals, you yield to any vehicle approaching from your right.⁴ The same section covers meeting-point situations: a driver on an unpaved road approaching a paved road yields to the paved-road traffic, a driver approaching a divided highway from a smaller road stops and yields, and a driver whose road dead-ends at an intersection yields to all cross traffic.

Left turns carry their own rule under Section 545.152. When turning left, you must yield to any oncoming vehicle already in the intersection or close enough to be a hazard.⁵ A large share of intersection collisions happen here, and misjudging oncoming speed almost always puts fault on the turning driver.

Emergency Vehicles and the Move Over Law

Section 545.156 covers moving emergency vehicles. When an authorized emergency vehicle approaches with sirens or flashing lights, you must yield, pull as far right as possible, stop, and stay there until it passes.⁶ The rule applies to ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, medical examiner vehicles, and certain other official vehicles using authorized signals.

Section 545.157, the Move Over or Slow Down law, covers stationary emergency vehicles, tow trucks, and utility vehicles on the roadside. On a highway with two or more lanes in your direction, you must move out of the lane nearest the stopped vehicle. If you can’t change lanes safely, you must slow to at least 20 mph below the posted limit (or 5 mph if the limit is under 25).⁷

Penalties are far steeper than a routine ticket:

First offense: $500 to $1,250
Second or subsequent offense within five years: $1,000 to $2,000
Bodily injury to another person: Class A misdemeanor
Second or subsequent bodily-injury offense: state jail felony

The court can also suspend a repeat offender’s license for up to six months.⁷

Passing, Lane Changes, Signaling, and Following Distance

Texas drivers must keep to the right half of the roadway under normal conditions. Section 545.053 requires you to pass on the left at a safe distance and stay in the left lane until you’re safely clear of the vehicle you passed.⁸ You also need enough clear visibility ahead to complete the maneuver without creating a hazard.

Passing on the right is tightly limited. Section 545.057 allows it only when the vehicle ahead is making or about to make a left turn, and only on a road wide enough for two lanes in your direction or on a one-way street. Both conditions must be present. Leaving the paved roadway to pass on the right is prohibited, which rules out shoulder-passing.⁹

On multi-lane roads, Section 545.060 requires you to stay within a single marked lane and change lanes only when you can do so safely.¹⁰ On a three-lane road with two-way traffic, the center lane is available only for passing when it’s clear, for setting up a left turn, or when a sign designates it for your direction. Unsafe lane changes are frequently cited after sideswipe and multi-vehicle crashes.

Turning rules sit in Section 545.101. For a right turn, approach and complete the turn as close to the right curb or edge as practical. For a left turn, approach in the far-left lane for your direction, then enter a lane lawfully available on the road you’re turning onto.¹¹ Section 545.104 requires a continuous turn signal for at least the last 100 feet before the turn, using either turn signal lamps or hand signals.¹² Failure to signal is one of the most common reasons officers initiate stops.

Section 545.062 governs following distance. You must leave enough room to stop safely, accounting for speed, traffic, and road conditions.¹³ The statute sets no fixed car-length or second count; the required gap moves with conditions. In rear-end collisions, the burden of showing adequate distance effectively falls on the driver who was behind.

Stopping for a School Bus

Section 545.066 contains one of the stricter rules in the chapter. When a school bus is stopped with its visual signals activated to pick up or drop off students, you must stop before reaching the bus, no matter which direction you’re going. You cannot proceed until the bus moves again, the driver signals you forward, or the flashing signals shut off.¹⁴

One exception applies. If the highway has separate roadways divided by a physical barrier, an unusable median, or a clearly marked dividing section, you don’t have to stop for a bus on the opposite roadway. A center turn lane alone does not count as a divider. On a four-lane road with just a left-turn lane in the middle, traffic in both directions must stop.

Penalties track the Move Over law: $500 to $1,250 for a first offense, $1,000 to $2,000 for a second offense within five years, a Class A misdemeanor if someone suffers serious bodily injury, and a state jail felony for a second bodily-injury conviction. The court can suspend a repeat offender’s license for up to six months.¹⁴

Texting While Driving

Section 545.4251 makes it illegal to read, write, or send an electronic message on a handheld wireless device while the vehicle is moving. The ban covers texting, email, and any other typed communication. If the vehicle is fully stopped, the prohibition doesn’t apply.¹⁵

Several affirmative defenses exist. You won’t be convicted if you were using a hands-free device, navigating with GPS, reporting an emergency, reading a message you reasonably believed concerned an emergency, using a device mounted for work dispatching, or tapping a button to play music. Emergency vehicle operators acting officially and FCC-licensed radio operators are also exempt.

A first offense carries a fine of $25 to $99. A repeat offense runs $100 to $200. If texting while driving causes death or serious bodily injury, the offense becomes a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to a $4,000 fine and up to one year in jail.¹⁵

Reckless Driving

Reckless driving under Section 545.401 requires willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. The driver has to have consciously chosen to drive in a dangerous way, not merely made a careless mistake. Officers typically apply this charge for extreme speeding, aggressive weaving, or similar behavior that puts bystanders at immediate risk.¹⁶

A conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in county jail, or both. Unlike most Chapter 545 offenses, reckless driving also reaches private parking lots and access ways used by businesses, not just public roads. For CDL holders, a reckless driving conviction counts as a serious traffic violation that can combine with other offenses to trigger disqualification.

Racing on a Highway

Section 545.420 targets street racing, drag racing, speed competitions, and even exhibitions of acceleration tied to a drag race. The definition is broad: outrunning another car, racing to a destination, or testing endurance on a long-distance route can all qualify.¹⁷

Penalties escalate quickly with priors or harm:

First offense: Class B misdemeanor (up to $2,000, up to 180 days in jail)
Second offense, or racing while intoxicated or with an open container: Class A misdemeanor (up to $4,000, up to one year in jail)
Third or subsequent offense: state jail felony
Bodily injury to another person: third-degree felony
Serious bodily injury or death: second-degree felony

Law enforcement also impounds the vehicle used in the offense and sends it to a licensed storage facility. The owner pays all towing and storage fees and cannot retrieve the vehicle until those fees are paid in full.

Child Passenger Safety

Section 545.412 requires every child under eight to be secured in an approved child safety seat while the vehicle is moving, unless the child is taller than four feet nine inches. The seat must be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A violation carries a fine of $25 to $250. The rule doesn’t apply when every seat equipped with a safety belt or child seat is already occupied, and a defense exists if the vehicle was being operated in an emergency or for law enforcement.¹⁸

What a Chapter 545 Ticket Actually Costs

Most Chapter 545 violations without their own stated penalty fall under the general penalty in Section 542.401, which puts the fine between $1 and $200.¹ That covers speeding, unsafe lane changes, failure to signal, and following too closely. The base fine rarely tells the full story. Court costs, state fees, and surcharges routinely push the total owed well above the fine itself.

Several offenses carry their own, harsher penalties. School bus and Move Over violations start at $500. Reckless driving can include jail time. Racing and texting that causes serious injury or death reach felony territory. Beyond the ticket, a conviction can raise insurance premiums, add points to your driving record, and threaten a commercial driver’s license. CDL holders face particularly severe consequences: two serious traffic violations within three years can bring a 60-day disqualification, and three within the same window can mean 120 days off the road.

1
Texas Public Law. Texas Transportation Code 542.401 – General Penalty
2
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.351 – Maximum Speed Requirement
3
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.352 – Prima Facie Speed Limits
4
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.151 – Vehicle Approaching or Entering Intersection
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.152 – Vehicle Turning Left
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.156 – Vehicle Approached by Authorized Emergency Vehicle
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.157 – Passing Certain Vehicles
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.053 – Passing to the Left; Return; Being Passed
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.057 – Passing to the Right
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.060 – Driving on Roadway Laned for Traffic
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Texas Public Law. Texas Transportation Code 545.101 – Turning at Intersection
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Texas Public Law. Texas Transportation Code 545.104 – Signaling Turns; Use of Turn Signals
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.062 – Following Distance
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State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.066 – Passing a School Bus; Offense
15
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.4251 – Use of Portable Wireless Communication Device for Electronic Messaging; Offense
16
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.401 – Reckless Driving; Offense
17
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.420 – Racing on Highway; Impoundment of a Vehicle
18
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code 545.412 – Child Passenger Safety Seat Systems; Offense