Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Texas lawmakers are considering whether to ban texting while driving across the Lone Star State. There are 10 bills that have been filed in Austin: Senate Bill 138 would ban texting while driving except when using a hands-free device. House Bill 93 provides for a penalty of up to $200 for texting while driving, and another bill (HB103) doubles that fine in school zones. A Channel 11 News article however reports that the various bills don’t seem to be getting much traction and suggests a couple of possible reasons why: telephone company lobbyists or lack of public interest. In the Houston area six cities have banned texting while driving recently: Conroe, Missouri City, West University Place, Bellaire, Alvin and Galveston. Missouri City’s ban has been in effect since last June, so for about 10 months, however thus far Missouri City P.D. has issued only 5 citations for texting while driving. Only 11 citations have been issued in Galveston and none have been issued in West University Place.

Adrian Alfredo Perez, 29, a former public bus driver in San Antonio, was ordered to serve 30 days in jail yesterday for what prosecutors say is the first conviction in Bexar County for reckless driving that is directly related to texting. His attorney had asked for probation, 30 days was the maximum sentence the driver could receive. Perez was driving a Metropolitan Transit vehicle when he crashed into the back of an SUV while traveling 34MPH: prior to the wreck he had been checking text messages on his cell phone. His sentence was decided by the judge after the jury found him guilty of the misdemeanor reckless driving charge.  Perez gained notoriety on the Internet when surveillance video from inside the bus was posted online. You can read the San Antonio Express News report of the story here.