Firing off witty texts to your friends while you try to eye the road and stay within the lines? “LOL,” you just got pulled over and served with a $200 fine.
In January, San Antonio started enforcing its new texting-while-driving ban, falling in line with some other Texas cities like Austin and El Paso. Under the new law, you can be fined up to $200 if an officer catches you tapping away at the phone behind the wheel, even if you’re stopped at a red light.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 28 percent of all crashes in 2008 were caused by drivers who admitted to texting. So far, 30 states have banned it, and Texas may be next on the list. State Senator Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, has said he would try to pass such a bill this session.
