Every day, drivers in Pearland and across the Greater Houston area share roads like State Highway 288, Beltway 8, and FM 518 with people who are more focused on their phones than on the traffic ahead. A distracted driving crash can happen in seconds, and the injuries it causes can last a lifetime. If a distracted driver hurt you or someone you love, you deserve honest answers and real legal support. Gustin Law Firm, with its principal office in Houston, Texas, represents injury victims throughout the Pearland area and fights to recover the compensation they need to move forward. Attorney Taly Gustin is responsible for the content on this page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Distracted driving is broader than most people realize. It is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, or adjusting a navigation system. All of these behaviors pull a driver’s eyes, hands, or mind away from the road. Any one of them can cause a serious crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas has a specific law targeting the most dangerous form of distraction. Under Texas Transportation Code Section 545.4251, an operator commits an offense if the operator uses a portable wireless communication device to read, write, or send an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped. That means texting, emailing, posting to social media, and instant messaging are all prohibited while the car is in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The law also goes further for certain groups. Under Texas Transportation Code Section 545.424, new drivers and drivers under 18 cannot use a cell phone at all while driving, even hands-free. Texas Transportation Code Section 545.425 makes it illegal for school bus drivers to use a phone with kids on board and for any driver to use a phone in a school zone. These stricter rules reflect how much more dangerous distracted driving becomes in high-risk environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Violating Section 545.4251 carries real consequences. A first-time offense carries a fine between $25 and $99, while subsequent violations can lead to fines of up to $200. If texting while driving leads to a crash involving a serious injury or death, the offense may be elevated to a Class A misdemeanor, carrying potential jail time of up to one year and a fine of up to $4,000. Beyond the criminal side, that same violation becomes powerful evidence in a civil injury claim against the distracted driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texting is not the only problem. Drivers who eat, apply makeup, or reach for something in the back seat are just as dangerous. If that behavior caused your crash, Texas law still gives you a path to compensation, even without a specific traffic citation tied to the act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pearland has grown rapidly over the past decade, and that growth has brought more traffic to roads like Shadow Creek Parkway, Broadway Street, and the SH-288 corridor heading toward the Texas Medical Center. More cars and more drivers mean more opportunities for distracted driving crashes to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The numbers at the national level tell a troubling story. Distracted driving claimed 3,208 lives in 2024. An estimated 315,167 people were injured in traffic crashes involving distracted drivers in 2024. These are not just statistics. Behind each number is a family dealing with hospital bills, lost income, and grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texting is particularly dangerous because it combines three types of distraction at once. Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 mph, that is like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed. On a busy stretch of SH-288 near the Beltway 8 interchange, five seconds is more than enough time for a rear-end collision or a lane departure crash to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas-specific data reinforces this concern. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, distracted driving played a part in almost 17% of fatal crashes in 2023, equaling nearly 2,800 serious injuries and close to 400 deaths. Pearland sits at the southern edge of one of the most heavily traveled metro areas in the country. That puts local drivers and pedestrians at real risk every time someone picks up a phone behind the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Distracted driving crashes near popular Pearland spots like Southwyck Golf Club, Independence Park, or the Pearland Town Center parking areas often involve rear-end impacts or T-bone collisions at intersections. These crashes can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and catastrophic injuries that change lives permanently. If you were hurt in one of these accidents, the injuries you suffered matter, and so does the compensation you can pursue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winning a distracted driving injury claim in Texas requires proof. Saying the other driver was on their phone is not enough. You need evidence that shows what the driver was doing, how it caused the crash, and what injuries and losses resulted from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas follows a negligence standard in personal injury cases. To hold a distracted driver liable, your attorney must establish four things: the driver owed you a duty of care, the driver breached that duty by driving distracted, the distraction caused the crash, and you suffered real damages as a result. When a driver violates Texas Transportation Code Section 545.4251, that violation can support a legal theory called negligence per se. If a distracted driver causes an accident, they may be held legally responsible for damages through a personal injury lawsuit under the legal theory of negligence per se, meaning that violating the texting law automatically establishes negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evidence in these cases comes from multiple sources. Phone records, witness testimony, and video evidence can all play a role in establishing fault. Attorneys can subpoena cell phone records to show exactly when a driver was texting or browsing. Surveillance cameras near Pearland intersections, dashcam footage, and data from the vehicle’s event data recorder can all support your claim. Eyewitness accounts from bystanders or other drivers are also valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Texas uses a modified comparative fault rule under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001. Under Texas’s modified comparative fault rule, a driver who was partially at fault for an accident may still recover damages if they were less than 51% responsible. Their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault. If a texting driver is found to be more than 50% responsible, they will be barred from recovering any damages. This means insurance companies may try to shift blame onto you to reduce what they owe. Having a skilled attorney on your side protects you from that tactic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n