Quick Answer
- Verified: TxDOT recorded 17,761 distracted-driver-involved crashes in Bexar County in 2024.
- Verified: Those crashes included 56 fatal crashes, 58 fatalities, 231 suspected-serious-injury crashes, and 264 suspected serious injuries.
- Derived calculation: 17,761 divided by 48,522 total Bexar County crashes equals 36.6 percent. The categories can overlap, so this percentage is descriptive and does not prove distraction caused every listed crash.
Key Takeaways
- TxDOT’s county reports are based on reportable data from Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Reports, commonly called CR-3 reports.
- A distracted-driver designation in a database is an investigative lead, not automatic proof of civil liability.
- Phone records, app data, vehicle data, video, witness accounts, and the driver’s statements may be more important than a traffic citation.
- Digital evidence can be lost through routine retention and deletion, so preservation should begin early.
- Texas law generally prohibits reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a portable wireless device while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped.
What Do the San Antonio Distracted Driving Numbers Show?
TxDOT’s final county tables report 48,522 crashes in Bexar County in 2024. The distracted-driver table lists 17,761 crashes involving a distracted driver. It also reports 58 fatalities and 264 suspected serious injuries in that category.
The word involving matters. TxDOT compiles reportable information from CR-3 reports that law-enforcement agencies submit. The table does not establish that distraction was the sole cause of each crash, and it does not decide legal fault.
| TxDOT category | Total crashes | Fatal crashes | Fatalities | Suspected serious injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All reportable crashes | 48,522 | 205 | 215 | 897 |
| Distracted-driver involved | 17,761 | 56 | 58 | 264 |
| DUI alcohol involved | 1,654 | 58 | 64 | 94 |
| Commercial motor vehicle involved | 2,684 | 18 | 18 | 46 |
Method note: These categories are not mutually exclusive. One crash may involve distraction, alcohol, and a commercial motor vehicle. Adding the category totals would double-count some crashes. TxDOT states that the reports reflect CR-3 data received and processed as of April 9, 2025.
Does 36.6 Percent Mean Distraction Caused That Share of Crashes?
No. The calculation is 17,761 distracted-driver-involved crashes divided by 48,522 total crashes, which equals 36.6 percent when rounded to one decimal place. It describes how the two TxDOT tables compare. It does not prove that distraction was the legal or exclusive cause of 36.6 percent of crashes.
Police officers often must complete a crash report before carrier records, app data, vehicle downloads, or a full witness investigation are available. Some distraction may never be identified. In other cases, a report may note possible distraction that later evidence does not support.
Attorney Insight: In a distracted-driving case, the strongest proof usually connects a specific activity to the seconds before impact. A carrier log may show that a data session occurred, but it may not identify who used the phone or what the driver was doing. The evidence becomes stronger when timestamps align with video, app records, vehicle speed and braking data, witness testimony, or an admission.
What Does Texas Law Prohibit?
Texas Transportation Code Section 545.4251 generally prohibits a driver from using a portable wireless communication device to read, write, or send an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped. The statute includes defenses and exceptions, including certain hands-free, navigation, emergency, occupational, and music functions.
A citation is not required for an injured person to investigate a civil claim. It also does not automatically decide the case. Civil responsibility depends on the full evidence, including whether the conduct caused the collision and resulting harm.
Texas also uses proportionate responsibility, which means a factfinder may assign percentages of responsibility to the people or entities involved. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001, a claimant may not recover damages if the claimant’s percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent.
What Evidence Can Prove a Driver Was Distracted?
- Preserve the phone and account data. Identify the device, carrier, phone number, and relevant apps. Do not alter or erase the injured person’s own device.
- Match timestamps. Compare the crash time against call logs, messages, app activity, photographs, navigation events, and cloud records.
- Look beyond the phone. Dash cameras, nearby business video, traffic cameras, vehicle event data, infotainment logs, and telematics may show attention, speed, braking, or lane movement.
- Secure statements. A driver’s admission, a passenger’s observation, a 911 recording, or body-camera footage may identify what happened before impact.
- Check for work-related use. Dispatch messages, delivery apps, employer policies, and time records may matter when the driver was working.
- Compare the CR-3 with the physical evidence. The report is a starting point. Photographs, vehicle damage, roadway marks, and medical records may confirm or contradict the initial account.
For a deeper explanation of digital proof, read the firm’s guide to the cell-phone data subpoena process in Texas distracted-driving cases.
What Defenses Are Common in Distracted Driving Claims?
The defense may argue that the device belonged to a passenger, the phone activity occurred before or after the impact, the driver used a permitted navigation or hands-free function, or the crash would have happened regardless of device use. It may also argue that another driver made an unsafe lane change, stopped abruptly, was speeding, or failed to avoid the collision.
Those arguments are why a distracted-driving claim should not depend on one screenshot or a general allegation that the other driver was “on the phone.” A useful investigation builds a timeline and tests each competing explanation against objective evidence.
What Should an Injured Person Do After a Suspected Distracted-Driving Crash?
Get appropriate medical care, keep the crash photographs and messages in their original form, save the names of witnesses, and avoid deleting or resetting devices connected to the incident. Ask that available video and digital records be preserved. If you need help evaluating the claim, a San Antonio car accident lawyer can compare the CR-3 against the other evidence.
How Ryan Orsatti Law Reviews Distracted-Driving Cases
Ryan Orsatti Law is a San Antonio personal injury firm that reviews car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, and serious-injury cases involving suspected driver distraction. The review may include the CR-3, phone and app evidence, video, vehicle data, employer records, witness accounts, insurance information, and medical documentation. The firm represents injured Texans in San Antonio and across Texas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many distracted-driving crashes occurred in Bexar County?
TxDOT’s 2024 county report lists 17,761 distracted-driver-involved crashes in Bexar County. The same table reports 56 fatal crashes, 58 fatalities, 231 suspected-serious-injury crashes, and 264 suspected serious injuries. These are reportable CR-3 data, not a court finding that distraction legally caused every crash.
Can phone records prove distracted driving?
Phone records can help, but they rarely prove the entire case by themselves. Carrier records may establish calls, messages, or data activity near the crash time. App metadata, video, vehicle data, witness statements, and admissions may be needed to identify who used the device and connect that activity to the collision.
What if the police report does not mention distraction?
A missing distraction notation does not end the inquiry. The officer may not have had access to phone, app, video, or vehicle data when completing the CR-3. Later evidence may support or disprove distraction. The report should be compared with the complete timeline rather than treated as the final word on fault.
Is using a phone while driving always illegal in Texas?
No. Texas Transportation Code Section 545.4251 prohibits reading, writing, or sending electronic messages on a portable wireless device while operating a motor vehicle unless stopped, but the statute contains defenses and exceptions. Hands-free use, navigation, emergency functions, certain occupational uses, and music functions may be treated differently under the statute.
Should I wait to investigate suspected phone use?
No. Medical care and evidence preservation should not be delayed. Phones are replaced, app data changes, videos are overwritten, and third parties follow different retention schedules. Early action cannot guarantee that evidence exists or will be recoverable, but delay can narrow the available sources and make the timeline harder to prove.
Source Notes
- TxDOT: Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024
- TxDOT: Distracted Driver Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024
- TxDOT: DUI Alcohol Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024
- TxDOT: Commercial Motor Vehicle Involved Crashes and Injuries by County, 2024
- Texas Transportation Code Section 545.4251
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 33.001
Ryan Orsatti Law
4634 De Zavala Rd, San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-525-1200
ryanorsattilaw.com
This blog is for informational purposes only, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee future results.
Hurt in an accident in San Antonio? Learn how a San Antonio car accident lawyer can help with your claim. Call 210-525-1200 or request a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
Related San Antonio legal resources
Primary legal and public-data sources
- TxDOT: Texas crash reports, data, and statistics
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33: proportionate responsibility
Ryan Orsatti Law
4634 De Zavala Road, San Antonio, TX 78249
Source links verified August 7, 2026.