Cell Phone and Text Messaging (Driver’s Under 18)
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.03.10 under Texas Laws
The Texas Department of Public Safety has clarified the laws regarding cell phones and other wireless communication devices for drivers that are under the age of 18.
HB 2730 and HB 339, enacted recently by the 81st Texas Legislature, restrict all drivers under the age of 18 from using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle.
This new restriction applies to licenses issued after September 1, 2009, to applicants who are under 18.
All drivers under 18 who were issued an original driver license before September 1, 2009 are still restricted from using a wireless communication device during the six-month period following the issuance of that original license.
The use of a wireless communication device cannot be used to make a traffic stop.
Texas Crossing Zone Cell Phone Law
[ No Comments ] Posted on 03.03.10 under Texas Laws
Texas - House Bill 55 - House bill 55 was signed by the Governor in June of 2009. The new law prohibits the use of a wireless communication device within a school crossing zone.
There is an exception for the use of a hands free device.
The new law also prohibits bus operators from using a wireless communication device while operating a passenger bus with a minor passenger unless the bus is stopped.
There are exceptions for emergency situations, for more details on the new law please read House Bill 55.
School Bus Law
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.28.09 under Texas Laws
On Friday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed into law legislation passed by Congress that requires all Texas school buses purchased on or after September 1, 2010 to be equipped with three-point lap and shoulder seat belts for passengers.
Additionally, all charter (motorcoach) buses used by Texas schools to transport school children on or after September 1, 2014 must also be equipped with three-point lap and shoulder belts for passengers.
The new law is a result of the tragic school bus accident that occurred on March 29, 2006, near Devers, Texas, and took the life of two West Brook High School students and critically injured several others.
The law will be contingent on lawmakers finding the money to cover the school districts’ expenses for the seat belts. Sen. Eddie Lucio, a sponsor of the bill that Gov. Perry signed into law, does not believe finding the money will be an issue considering the vast resources in Texas.
Some school districts, including Beaumont and Galveston, have already begun installing three-point lap and shoulder belts on new school buses. Other school districts in Texas are also considering taking action before 2010.
New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, California and Florida have also all passed legislation requiring seat belts on school buses.
The passing of this law means our school children will be safer when traveling to/from school and school related events. Too many of our children have been virtually unprotected when involved in an accident where the school bus tipped or rolled over. In order to adequately protect bus occupants from sustaining serious injury or death in tip over and rollover crashes, you must keep them restrained to their seats. This law will implement a common sense approach motor vehicle safety that has been available in passenger cars for decades
Texas Child Passenger Law
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.28.09 under General Texas Defensive Driving
Texas child passenger safety laws require children younger than five years of age and less than 36 inches in height to ride in an approved car seat. Beginning September 1, 2009, a new law requires children under age 8 to ride in a booster seat, unless they are 4′9″ tall.
Additionally, Texas law states that during the operation of the vehicle, the child must be properly secured in the car seat or booster seat according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system.
No more cell phones in school zones in Texas
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.28.09 under Texas Laws
Beginning September 1st Texas Motorists will now be required to adhere to more than just speed limits in school zones come the start of the new school year.
A new Texas law prohibits motorists from using wireless communication devices, like cell phones and PDAs, unless they are hands-free, in active school zones.
The law, which goes into effect September 1, states that the only exception to this would be if a person was making an emergency phone call to an emergency response service, hospital, fire or police department, health clinic, medical doctor’s office or an individual to administer first-aid treatment. The law won’t apply to operators of emergency vehicles acting in an official capacity or motorists licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to operate a radio frequency device.
Offenders of this law could face a fine of up to $200.
A new law targeting suspected Texas drunk drivers
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.28.09 under Texas Laws
Prosecutors believe the new Texas law will help them put dangerous drunk drivers behind bars. But criminal defense attorneys warn that the price will be a major violation of personal privacy and your constitutional rights.
Sticking someone with a needle and forcing them to give blood can bring out some strong emotions. But a new law set to take effect on September 1 will allow police officers to do so even without a search warrant, if they encounter a suspected drunk driver who is a repeat offender, has a passenger under the age of 15 or has a passenger die.
The new law gives police officers unchecked discretion over whose blood they can test, creating more opportunities for abuse of power. Some believe that even innocent drivers will wind up charged with DWI while they wait months for test results to clear them.
When you get a driver’s license, the law states you consent to all this,
Prosecutors say blood test results will make it easier for them to keep the streets safe.
One District Attorney’s office states that this will “makes a huge difference in being able to obtain convictions against intoxicated drivers.”
Even though blood tests take longer to process, attorneys warn police officers will be more likely to use them whenever possible because they provide stronger evidence in court than a breathalyzer test.
Current law allows involuntary blood testing without a warrant only when there is an accident involving serious bodily injury or death.
HB 823 Clarifies Right to Carry Handgun in Vehicle
[ No Comments ] Posted on 01.13.09 under General Texas Defensive Driving
The following press release was issued today by State Representative Terry
Keel regarding HB 823.
TO: Media
FROM: Terry Keel, State Representative, Austin
RE: HB 823 by Keel, Effective 9/1/05 Clarifies Right to Carry Handgun in Vehicle While Traveling
DATE: August 30, 2005
PRESS RELEASE
It is well established in Texas that a person who is traveling has a right to possess a handgun for personal protection. The practical problem with this right has historically been that courts have disagreed on the definition of “traveling”. The legislature has likewise never defined “traveling” because a definition invariably has the unintended effect of unfairly limiting the term to a narrow set of circumstances.
HB 823 becomes effective September 1, 2005, shoring up the right of citizens to carry a concealed handgun while traveling. There have been many inquiries to my office from citizens and media regarding the upcoming change in the law and what it means.
HB 823 provides for a legal presumption in favor of citizens that they are travelers if they are in a private vehicle with a handgun that is not in plain view, they are not otherwise engaged in unlawful activity nor otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, and they are not a member of a criminal street gang.
In plain terms, a law-abiding person should not fear arrest if they are transporting a concealed pistol in a motor vehicle. There is no longer the need for a law enforcement officer to apply a subjective definition of what constitutes “traveling” where the citizen is cloaked with the presumption per the terms of the new statute. Under those circumstances the citizen should be allowed to proceed on their way.
HB 823 represents the first time a presumption has been crafted in favor of a defendant in the modern penal code of Texas. The presumption applies unless the prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the facts giving rise to the presumption do not exist. If the state fails to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the facts giving rise to the presumption do not exist, the jury must find that the presumed fact exists. By enacting this evidentiary standard in conjunction with the presumption, the legislation is intended to have the practical effect of preventing in the first place the arrest of citizens who meet the newly specified prerequisites of being a presumed traveler.
It should be noted that the very real problem of citizens having to prove their innocence after arrest by the assertion of their right to carry a firearm while traveling was the reason for a 1997 legislative change which replaced the “defense” of traveling with a classification of the statute of UCW as instead entirely “inapplicable” to a traveler. This change was well-intentioned but did not have the intended effect of protecting honest citizens from potential arrest because the term “traveling” was still left to individual police or judicial officials to define on a case-by-case basis. As a consequence, law-abiding citizens who availed themselves of their right to have a handgun while traveling continued to face arrest and often later prevailed only in a court of law after proving that they were indeed traveling.
In enacting HB 823, the 79th legislature, like all previous legislatures, declined to define traveling as a narrow set of particular circumstances. For example, to require someone to have an overnight stay in a journey in order to be classified as a traveler would be unfair to persons traveling great distances in one day. Likewise, a requirement that a citizen be “crossing county lines” may make no sense, such as in areas of Texas where travelers drive hundreds of miles without leaving a single county. Moreover, the ability of police to elicit such evidence and consistently apply its subjective terms on the street in a traffic stop has not proven practical, at all. The new statute instead focuses on a defined set of relevant, objective facts that are capable of being determined on the spot by law officers.
There are several additional important points that should be made in regard to the enactment of HB 823 and its interface with current law.
HB 823 does not give “everyone the right to carry a gun in a car”. State and federal laws applicable to firearms must be noted in conjunction with the new statute’s terms, particularly the limitation of the presumption to persons who are “not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.” For example, persons subject to an active protective order are not covered by the presumption, nor are persons with any felony conviction or even some misdemeanor convictions for offenses, e.g., family violence. The presumption is likewise inapplicable to persons associated with a criminal street gang, even if they have no conviction for any offense. These as well as all other existing limitations on firearm ownership and/or possession make the new statute inapplicable to persons covered by such prohibitions.
Furthermore, as stated in the statute, the presumption will not apply to persons who are otherwise engaged in any criminal conduct. This would include persons who are driving while intoxicated, driving recklessly, committing criminal mischief, or committing any other criminal offense outside that of a minor traffic infraction.
The presumption also does not apply where the gun is openly displayed.
The enactment of HB 823 was the culmination of study, committee hearings and debate by the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. I am confident that the new law will assist law enforcement in doing its job while at the same time protecting law-abiding citizens from the threat of arrest for merely exercising their right to arm themselves while traveling—-a right to which they are already entitled.
For further information, contact State Representative Terry Keel, 512-463-0652.
Houston Defensive Driving
[ No Comments ] Posted on 10.27.08 under General Texas Defensive Driving
A deputy police officer responded to a report of a loud disturbance in a neighborhood. The “disturbance” turned out to be drunk and well over six feet tall weighing almost 300 pounds. The drunk boasted that he could whip all the deputies that could possibly show up, after he finished his beer.
Said the policeman, “I’ll bet that you’re also an escape artist-probably better than Houdini.”
The giant drunk nodded … yeah
“If I had some chains,” the deputy continued, “you could show us how strong you really are. But all I’ve got is a set of handcuffs. Why don’t you see just how quickly you can break out of them?”
Once in the cuffs, the man puffed, pulled and jerked for four minutes. “I can’t get out of these,” the giant growled.
“Are you sure?” the deputy asked. The fellow tried again. “Nope,” he replied. “I can’t do it.”
“In that case,” said the deputy, “you’re under arrest.”
Cop Talk - Please Stop!
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.14.08 under General Texas Defensive Driving
Yes, our community seems to have a lot of stop signs but let’s think about why.
Stop signs were installed to provide safety not only for vehicles but pedestrians at our intersections. These are generally based on the traffic flow of intersecting streets. The Texas Transportation Code (§544.010) “Stop signs and yield signs” states:
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Unless directed to proceed by a police officer or traffic control signal, the operator of a vehicle or streetcar approaching an intersection with a stop sign shall stop as provided by Subsection (c).
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If safety requires, the operator of a vehicle approaching a yield sign shall stop as provided by Subsection (c)
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An operator required to stop by this section shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection. In the absence of a crosswalk, the operator shall stop at a clearly marked stop line. In the absence of a stop line, the operator shall stop at the place nearest the intersecting roadway where the operator has a full view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway.
To be considered as making a legal stop, the operator of a vehicle must cease all forward movement. A good indicator of this is when the vehicle wheels have completely stop rolling. We have all heard of the “California” rolling stop. This describes a vehicle which slows at the stop sign and slowly rolls on through the intersection. Well, that might work in California but it won’t pass muster here!
Please remember our children, walkers and joggers. Be a courteous and safe driver while operating your vehicle in our community.
Slow Down or Change Lanes for Stopped Emergency Vehicles on Texas Roadwasy
[ No Comments ] Posted on 07.09.08 under General Texas Defensive Driving
SB 193 requires drivers on Texas roads nearing stopped emergency vehicles-with lights activated -to either slow down or change lanes.
The Texas law states a driver must either vacate the lane closest to the stopped emergency vehicle if the road has multiple lanes traveling in the same direction or slow down 20 miles per hour below the speed limit. (If the speed limit is below 25 mph the driver must slow down to 5 mph.)
Emergency vehicles include police, emergency medical service and fire vehicles.
A violation is punishable by a maximum fine of $200. If the violation results in property damage, the maximum fine increases to $500. If the violation results in bodily injury, the offense is enhanced to a Class B misdemeanor.
The new law was passed in the last regular session of the Texas Legislature and went into effect back in Sept. 1, 2003.
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