Traffic Laws
I just got this from a friend. It's pretty interesting and well worth thinking about...and passing on to others.
Let my misfortune be a lesson for you. This is a long story, but a must read. This really happened to me on (12/10/03).
Yesterday, I was driving into town along the Southwest Freeway around 12:30 PM. I was in the far left lane doing the posted speed limit of 65 and going with the flow of traffic. When I got over the Bissonnett/Braeswood overpass, there was an HPD squad car parked on the left shoulder with the officer standing out in front of his vehicle pointing his radar gun at oncoming cars. Your inclination automatically tells you to slow down, whether you were speeding or not.
Not a 1/2 mile down the freeway, there was another HPD officer that had someone pulled over on the left shoulder giving the person a ticket. I thought, man this was an obvious speed trap and kept on going. I had slowed down to around 60 at that point as now the posted speed limit was 60.
About a mile up the road, around Gessner, another HPD officer had someone else pulled over to give them a ticket and literally in front of that traffic stop was another HPD officer (yes we are up to 4 cop cars now in about a mile) walking around to the front of his car. Just as I was approaching him, he pointed his radar gun at me and signaled for me to pull over. I was shocked, because I know that I was going the posted speed limit (60) as I immediately looked at my speedometer.
The officer came to my window and said "do you know how fast you were going?" I said yes, I was going 60. He said "you were doing 58" and he showed me his radar gun, which read 58. I said okay. He said "you failed to slow your speed down by 20 MPH or move over to the adjacent lane when an emergency vehicle was stopped in the flow of traffic." I said, I did not know that was a law (of course that is never a defense) and he said it was and asked for my license. I offered that and my concealed handgun license to him (as I am required by law, being a CHL carrier), as well as the knowledge that I was carrying my pistol under the rear passenger seat. The officer wrote me a ticket that carries a $200 maximum fine for this infraction.
Come to find out, this is a new state law as of September 1, 2003. From the TX DPS website, the law reads:
* SB 193 requires drivers nearing a stopped emergency vehicle that has lights activated, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer, to:
* Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle, if the highway has two or more lanes traveling the direction of the emergency vehicle; or
* Slow to a speed not more than 20 miles per hour (mph) less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 mph or more; or
* Slow to a speed not more than five mph when the posted speed limit is less than 25 mph.
* A violation is a 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.
Yes, I got a ticket for going less than the posted speed limit for this.
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/directo.../pr081903b.htm
New Traffic Laws Take Effect
Driving-related legislation taking effect September 1, 2003:
SB 45 makes it a state jail felony to drive while intoxicated with a passenger younger than 15.
SB 193 requires drivers nearing a stopped emergency vehicle that has lights activated, unless otherwise directed by a law enforcement officer, to:
Vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle, if the highway has two or more lanes traveling the direction of the emergency vehicle; or
Slow to a speed not more than 20 miles per hour (mph) less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 mph or more; or
Slow to a speed not more than five mph when the posted speed limit is less than 25 mph.
A violation is a 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.
Having a video display that is visible from the driver's seat is illegal.
SB 209 expands the definition of video receiving equipment to include digital videodisc players, videocassette players or similar equipment. This equipment may be used only if it is located so that the video display is not visible from the operator's seat.
HB 1326 automatically suspends for one year the driver license of anyone convicted of illegally racing on a public roadway. Before the license can be reinstated, the driver would have to complete 10 hours of community service. The punishment for illegal racing increases to a Class B misdemeanor. The law also increases the punishment for drivers who are racing drunk, who have open containers of alcohol in the vehicle when racing, who seriously injure or kill someone during the race or who have been convicted multiple times of illegal racing. Those offenses range from a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree felony.
SB 439 makes it illegal to add reflective material, lights, emblems or anything else that changes the color of the license plate or makes it difficult to read the letters on the license plate. The name of the state where the vehicle is registered must be visible.
SB 613 suspends the driver license of anyone under the age of 21 who is convicted of the manufacture, delivery, possession, transportation or use of an abusable volatile chemical.
HB 2096 makes human trafficking a second-degree felony; if the person trafficked is younger than 14 years of age or the commission of the offense results in the death, the offense is a first-degree felony. The bill also makes it a Class B misdemeanor to transport a person in a trailer or semi-trailer.
HB 292 strengthens an existing law and allows a police office to have a blood or breath alcohol sample taken from a driver involved in an alcohol-related crash that kills or seriously injures another person, either in a motor vehicle or a boat.
SB 895 requires that a parent or family member participating in the Parent-Taught Driver Education Program have a valid license for the previous three years. The license cannot have been suspended, revoked or forfeited during the past three years for traffic-related violations.
SB 1445 amends the current law to allow limited use of electronic information from the magnetic strip on the back of driver licenses by banks-and Texas Parks and Wildlife and its vendors.
HB 148 makes it a Class A misdemeanor to manufacture, sell or possess a placard that is deceptively similar to a disabled parking placard without proper authorization. A person also commits a Class B misdemeanor if they knowingly park in a space designated for persons with disabilities using a counterfeit placard.
HB 1784 makes it an offense for a person to park their vehicle where it blocks a disabled access aisle that is designed to aid persons with disabilities.
HB 1330 allows an applicant to voluntarily list on their driver license or identification card any health condition that might impede communication with peace officers. The applicant must supply DPS with a written statement from a licensed physician. (NOTE: This law takes effect Jan. 1, 2004.)
HB 3588 increases the penalty for seriously injuring someone when illegally passing a school bus that is loading or unloading students to Class A misdemeanor.
NOTE: An erroneous email has been circulating the Internet, claiming that HB 281, which outlawed talking on a cell phone while driving-or without using a hands-free device-had passed and will take effect September 1. The bill did not pass and will not take effect.
Terry