Texas hands-free rules are simple on paper and messy in a cup holder. If you are under 18, the restrictions are tighter. Holding the phone to look at a map, film a friend, or “just change the song” is how tickets and crashes start.

Mount the phone before you shift into drive. Set the destination while parked. If a text arrives, it waits. Voice commands only if they actually work in your car — many do not over road noise on I-35.

A passenger who is allowed under Texas GDL can handle the playlist. A passenger who is not allowed should not be in the car. “I’m using it as a GPS” does not cover scrolling.

Instructors see the habit in the first lesson: phone on the thigh, eyes down at every red light. Break it there. Rhodes Driving Schools cars and classrooms treat the phone as a closed object until the car is in park.

If a job or a parent expects instant replies, set the expectation before the teen has keys: driving time is offline time. That rule prevents more wrecks than another pamphlet. Ask about phone habits in teen drivers education at any Rhodes location.