A texting and driving accident in Texas is a crash caused by a driver who was reading, writing, or sending a message on a phone instead of watching the road. Texas has banned texting behind the wheel statewide since September 1, 2017, and that law can play a real part in your injury claim, from proving fault to, in some cases, seeking punitive damages.
The other driver rarely admits it. This page explains what Texas law says, how texting is proven, who can be held responsible, and what to do in the first days after a crash.
How Common Distracted Driving Crashes Are in Texas
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, distracted driving caused 86,384 crashes on Texas roads in 2025. More than 2,437 people were seriously injured, and 299 people died. TxDOT lists texting, talking, and glancing at a cell phone among the distractions behind those crashes, along with eating or drinking, setting a navigation system, changing the radio or climate controls, and reaching into the back seat.
This page focuses on phones, because Texas has a specific law about them. For the other distractions, such as eating, passengers, GPS, and aggressive driving, see our guide to distracted driver accidents in Texas.
Why Texting Behind the Wheel Is So Dangerous
To fully control a vehicle, a driver needs three things at the same time:
- Visual focus: eyes on the road.
- Manual focus: hands on the wheel.
- Cognitive focus: a mind on the job of driving.
Texting takes away all three. The driver looks down at a screen, uses one or both hands to hold and type, and shifts their thinking to the conversation. Visual focus is the most dangerous one to lose, because the car keeps moving whether or not anyone is watching. At 55 miles per hour, a vehicle travels about 80 feet every second.
A driver looking at a phone can miss a car slowing ahead, drift out of a lane, or miss a light that changed. Our guide to the types of car accidents in Texas and who is at fault explains how fault usually works in rear-end, lane-change, and intersection crashes.
What Texas Law Says About Texting While Driving
The statewide ban is Texas Transportation Code § 545.4251, added by House Bill 62 and effective September 1, 2017. Under § 545.4251(b), an operator 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.”
Under § 545.4251(c), it is an affirmative defense if the driver used the device:
- With a hands-free device
- To navigate using a global positioning system or navigation system
- To report illegal activity, summon emergency help, or enter information into an app that provides traffic and road-condition information
- To read a message the driver reasonably believed concerned an emergency
- While the device was affixed to the vehicle to relay information in the course of the driver’s job with a dispatcher or a digital network or software application service
- To activate a function that plays music
Under § 545.4251(e), a first offense is punishable by a fine of $25 to $99, and a repeat offense by a fine of $100 to $200. Under § 545.4251(f), the offense becomes a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $4,000 and up to one year in jail, if the driver caused the death or serious bodily injury of another person.
A second rule applies near schools. Under § 545.425(b), a driver may not use a wireless communication device in a school crossing zone unless the vehicle is stopped or the device is used hands-free.
How a Texting Violation Affects Your Injury Claim
A traffic ticket and an injury claim are two separate things. The ticket is between the driver and the state. Your claim is about who pays for your medical bills, lost income, and pain. The other driver does not have to be cited or convicted for you to bring a claim.
The texting law sets a clear standard of conduct for every Texas driver. Whether a violation can be used as negligence per se in a particular case is a legal question for your lawyer, but proof that a driver was texting is strong evidence that the driver was not driving with ordinary care.
You still have to show that the texting caused the crash and your injuries. A message sent ten minutes before the crash tells a different story than a message sent seconds before impact. Timing is everything, which is why the next section matters.
How Texting Is Proven
Proof usually comes from records, and from lining those records up against the exact time of the crash.
- Phone and carrier records. Records of when messages and data were sent and received can be requested during a lawsuit through discovery or a subpoena.
- The phone itself. A forensic review of the device can show activity at specific times. Phones get replaced and data gets deleted, so a written request to preserve the evidence should go out early.
- The crash timeline. The CR-3 crash report, 911 call records, and the vehicle’s event data recorder, which captures speed and braking before impact, help pin down the moment of the crash.
- Witnesses and video. Other drivers, passengers, and nearby cameras may show a driver looking down or holding a phone.
- Statements. What a driver says at the scene, to police, or to an insurance adjuster can be used later.
Much of this evidence is gathered during the discovery phase of a lawsuit. Our guide to how a car accident lawsuit works in Texas explains when and how that happens.
Can You Get Punitive Damages in a Texting Case?
Sometimes, but the bar is high. Texas calls punitive damages “exemplary damages.” Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.003(a), they may be awarded only if the injured person proves by clear and convincing evidence that the harm resulted from fraud, malice, or gross negligence. Under § 41.003(d), the jury must be unanimous on both liability for and the amount of exemplary damages.
Section 41.001(11) defines gross negligence as an act or omission that, viewed objectively at the time, “involves an extreme degree of risk,” and of which the actor had “actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeds with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.” Whether a texting driver’s conduct meets that definition depends on the facts of the crash.
Who Can Be Held Responsible
The texting driver is the first responsible party. Others may share responsibility:
- An employer. If the driver was working at the time, for example making deliveries, the company may be responsible under the Texas rule known as respondeat superior.
- Other drivers. In multi-vehicle crashes, fault can be divided among several drivers.
This matters because Texas only requires $30,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person under Transportation Code § 601.072, and a serious injury can cost far more.
Your Own Fault and Texas Proportionate Responsibility
Insurers sometimes argue that the injured driver was distracted too. Texas handles shared fault under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility, and it is barred if you are found more than 50 percent responsible. If you were 20 percent at fault, for example, your recovery is reduced by 20 percent.
That is one more reason to be careful with your own phone after a crash. Call for help and take photos, but avoid posting about the crash or texting about who was to blame.
What to Do After a Crash With a Texting Driver
- Call 911 and get medical care, even if you feel fine.
- Tell the officer if you saw the other driver holding or looking at a phone.
- Photograph the vehicles and the scene.
- Get names and phone numbers of witnesses.
- Write down the exact time of the crash while you remember it.
- Avoid giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer until you have advice.
Our step-by-step guide to what to do after a car accident in Texas covers the first days in more detail.
Deadlines
Most Texas personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(a). When a crash is fatal, the two years run from the date of death under § 16.003(b); our wrongful death attorneys can explain how those claims work. Claims involving a government vehicle generally require written notice within six months under § 101.101. Phone and video evidence can disappear long before any of these deadlines.
