{"id":279555,"date":"2026-05-05T10:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/279555\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T10:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:53:10","slug":"can-you-use-your-cell-phone-while-pumping-gas-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/279555\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you use your cell phone while pumping gas in Texas?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s probably safe to say every Texan has grown up hearing some laundry list of ways you can accidentally cause an explosion while\u00a0pumping gas. <\/a>Getting in and out of the car, checking your phone or (an obviously true example) lighting a cigarette. But is it illegal to use your cell phone while pumping gas<\/a> in Texas? Tuns out it\u2019s not, and there\u2019s no evidence that cell phone use has caused a gas pump<\/a> to go up in flames.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no law in Texas banning the use of a cell phone at a gas station. Though, you\u2019ve probably heard lore of cell phones causing static electricity, sparking a crisis at the gas pump. That\u2019s not really true. And while there may be signs warning against gaming or texting while refueling, there\u2019s no state law that\u2019ll land you with a fine or behind bars.<\/p>\n

But why is it frowned upon? Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

There is no recorded incident where using a cell phone caused an explosion at a gas pump, according to Erie Insurance\u2019s breakdown<\/a> of fueling station myths and legends. In fact, the Petroleum Equipment Institute reports there\u2019s no documented case of a cell phone causing a gas station fire at all.<\/p>\n

However, distracted drivers<\/a> are a treacherous nuisance, and Erie Insurance says they\u2019re more likely to drive off with the pump still in the fuel filler opening. Luckily, those pumps typically have a release for this (it happens more than you\u2019d think), but you could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in repairs. Plus, you shouldn\u2019t be getting back in your car anyway once you start the fueling process.<\/p>\n

Static electricity can be created when you glide back onto your seat in the car. Touching the metal handle of a gas pump actually can cause an explosion, according to AAA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get back in your car, even when it\u2019s cold or rainy,\u201d AAA warns. \u201cIn a few cases, doings so has created enough static electricity to ignite gasoline vapors when exiting the vehicle to remove the nozzle from the gas tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, it\u2019s cold and dry weather most likely to create a hazardous spark when sliding on and off your seat before heading back to the pump \u2013 so that\u2019s the most dangerous time to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s probably safe to say every Texan has grown up hearing some laundry list of ways you can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[847,820,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-279555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-mysanews","tag-mysastaff","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}