The laws that truck drivers have to follow on the road often change through the course of a single shift. Many commercial drivers travel across multiple states every day as part of their job. Even truckers who only drive locally in Texas may not fully understand the state rules and laws.
However, truckers must also comply with federal standards for those who hold commercial licenses. When it comes to texting and driving, commercial drivers must follow not just state but also federal law. Both Texas state statutes and federal rules for commercial drivers make it clear that texting and driving is a dangerous and illegal practice.
TEXAS BANDS TEXTING FOR ALL DRIVERS
Texas has a number of rules regarding the use of mobile phones. Drivers of all ages break the law if they choose to read or manually compose text messages or emails while in control of a vehicle. That state statute absolutely applies to commercial drivers as well as people in their own passenger vehicles.
Additionally, the federal no-text rule for people with commercial licenses also makes it very clear that commercial drivers cannot manually use a mobile device at all while in control of a commercial vehicle. Even dialing a phone number or pressing more than one button to access information on their phone is a violation of the no-text rule.
Distracted driving is dangerous for any driver but especially for those in control of harder-to-maneuver commercial vehicles. Commercial truckers who break this rule and cause crashes with other vehicles will theoretically have liability for any injuries and damages they cause.