Texas troopers are getting hit on the side of the road. And state officials say enough is enough.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced it will surge highway patrols from April 6 through April 13, 2026, as part of its annual Distracted Driving enforcement campaign — a week-long crackdown timed to coincide with national awareness efforts and, apparently, an already troubling start to the year on Texas roads.
Troopers Struck, Patience Gone
Texas Highway Patrol Chief Bryan Rippee didn’t mince words in announcing the campaign. “We are already seeing the consequences of distracted driving in 2026 — Troopers have been struck simply doing their jobs on the side of the road, and it’s preventable,” Rippee said. “There is zero tolerance for distracted driving.” That’s not the kind of statement you issue when things are going fine.
The timing isn’t coincidental. April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is running its Put the Phone Away or Pay campaign in tandem — with enforcement concentrated from April 9 through 13 and paid media blanketing the week. Texas, as it often does with traffic enforcement, is leaning in hard.
The Numbers Are Hard to Ignore
How bad is it, really? Bad. In 2024, distracted driving killed 3,208 people across the United States — a staggering figure that still somehow doesn’t fully capture the daily reality. About eight people die every single day in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than a thousand people are injured daily in those same kinds of crashes, according to federal data.
Still, the statistics can feel abstract until they land close to home. In Texas alone, the 2025 Distracted Driving enforcement campaign produced more than 79,201 citations and warnings. That included over 5,100 speeding violations, 335 seat belt and child seat infractions, nearly 1,849 violations for driving without insurance, and — perhaps most jarring — 345 felony and fugitive arrests. A routine traffic stop, it turns out, is rarely just routine.
Move Over — Or Pay Up
One issue drawing particular attention this year is the state’s Move Over, Slow Down law, which requires drivers to either vacate the lane closest to a stopped emergency vehicle or reduce their speed to 20 mph below the posted limit — or just 5 mph if the speed limit is already below 25. Violators face misdemeanor charges with fines reaching $1,250, with steeper penalties for repeat offenses or if someone gets hurt.
That’s the law. But compliance? That’s another story. Already in 2026, Texas has recorded more than 5,007 Move Over, Slow Down violations — a number that helps explain why troopers are getting struck while parked on the shoulder doing their jobs.
What Drivers Should Expect
During the April 6–13 window, drivers across Texas should expect a visible and deliberate increase in highway patrol presence. The campaign is part of a coordinated national push to change driver behavior — not just issue tickets, though there will certainly be those. The broader goal, officials say, is to make distracted driving feel as socially unacceptable as drunk driving once did.
Whether a week of heightened enforcement actually moves the needle on long-term behavior is a fair question. Campaigns like this one come around every April. The death toll, meanwhile, has remained stubbornly high for years. But the alternative — doing nothing while troopers get hit on the shoulder and thousands die annually — isn’t much of an option either.
Put the phone down. It can wait. Whatever it is, it absolutely can wait.
