For the fourth time, lawmakers are attempting to pass a statewide driving-while-texting ban. Individual cities, such as Austin, San Antonio and Lakeway, already have these bans in effect, but the regulation throughout the state is checkered as it stands. Here is what you need to know about this effort by the 85th Legislature:
1. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, has passed in the House of Representatives before, but has faced pushback in the Senate. Several witnesses brought up this fact during testimony on the bill among the House Transportation Committee on Thursday morning.
James Shaffer, a Denton resident whose wife and daughter were killed when someone who was texting while driving crashed into them, said he hoped the Senate would hear his story. Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, has even filed what he calls a "fallback bill" in case Craddick's doesn't pass. Turner said the House will have his scaled-back bill in its back pocket to use just in case.
2. Law enforcement, insurance agencies and trauma centers across the state support the bill. The committee heard testimony from the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions, a representative with the Houston Police Department, the Texas Municipal Police Association, and the Texas EMS Trauma and Acute Care Foundation, all of whom were in favor of the bill.
3. The bill includes some exceptions that allow drivers to text in emergency situations. Exceptions include using a hands-free device, reporting illegal activity or summoning emergency help, responding to what is believed to be an emergency text message and using GPS. Turner's bill, the "fallback" option, would apply the same ban, but only to cars with passengers under age 18 in the vehicle.
4. Law-enforcement officials said the ban is completely enforceable. Lakeway Judge Kevin Madison, who previously served as a police officer, said officers in his city often patrol streets in unmarked cars looking for those who text while driving, and then call in backup from marked vehicles.
When questions in the committee arose on how allegations would be proven in a court case, one of the bill's co-authors, Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said cases could proceed just like any other driving-without-a-seatbelt case. Wu said the officer who was responsible for the citation would swear under oath as to what he or she saw.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, expressed concern the bill could be used as a vehicle for officers to make pre-textual stops for unrelated arrests. However, Thompson still said she supported the bill fully.
5. Texting is considered one of the most dangerous things one can do while driving and is attributed as the cause for many fatalities in Texas each year. Capt. Matt May with the Houston Police Department said in 2017, there have already been 11,900 crashes in Houston, with 10,000 attributed to distracted driving. Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, cited a study that projects there will be 4,500 deaths on Texas roads per year if a statewide ban is not passed.
Next, Craddick's bill will move onto the House floor for debate and a passage vote. If it passes there, as it has in past sessions, it will move through the same process in the Senate.
