Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not the bill text, existing reckless driving and street-racing or exhibition provisions in Chapter 545 already appear to reach burnouts and wheelies. This bill would add a lower-level overlapping offense. The bill itself cites no existing section.
Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade
Caption
relating to the creation of a criminal offense for operating a
vehicle under certain circumstances causing a tire of the vehicle
to spin, lose traction, or leave the surface of a highway.
A lower-level offense overlapping existing reckless driving rules. Spin a tire, get a ticket!
The bill makes it a Class C misdemeanor offense to spin a tire from a stop by revving the engine, or to intentionally or knowingly accelerate so that any tire loses traction or leaves the road surface. It touches every driver in Texas, with the obvious targets being burnouts, wheelies and similar stunts. On the ground, police get a new ticket-level charge for tire-spinning and wheel-lifting starting September 1, 2025.
Labels
Labels: GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on May 12, 2025. Died in the House: failed to receive a favorable vote in the Criminal Jurisprudence committee on May 22, 2025.
relating to the creation of a criminal offense for operating a
vehicle under certain circumstances causing a tire of the vehicle
to spin, lose traction, or leave the surface of a highway.
WHAT IT DOES
A lower-level offense overlapping existing reckless driving rules. Spin a tire, get a ticket!
The bill makes it a Class C misdemeanor offense to spin a tire from a stop by revving the engine, or to intentionally or knowingly accelerate so that any tire loses traction or leaves the road surface. It touches every driver in Texas, with the obvious targets being burnouts, wheelies and similar stunts. On the ground, police get a new ticket-level charge for tire-spinning and wheel-lifting starting September 1, 2025.
Based on general knowledge of Texas law, not the bill text, existing reckless driving and street-racing or exhibition provisions in Chapter 545 already appear to reach burnouts and wheelies. This bill would add a lower-level overlapping offense. The bill itself cites no existing section.
TOTAL
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Names were not printed for yea. Only the named positions are included in member records.
Sources
Senator Bettencourt moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that SB 2017 be placed on its third reading and final passage. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 29 (published)
Nay: 1 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: Not printed
Excused: 1 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.
House committee · Criminal Jurisprudence · Final status: Died in committee
Senate committee · Criminal Justice · Committee vote 7 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee
Subjects
Crimes--Miscellaneous
Vehicles & Traffic--Rules of Road
TIRES
Text
The text as introduced · 187 words
89R15024 JRR-F
By: Bettencourt
S.B. No. 2017
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a criminal offense for operating a
vehicle under certain circumstances causing a tire of the vehicle
to spin, lose traction, or leave the surface of a highway.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter I, Chapter 545, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 545.4015 to read as follows:
Sec. 545.4015. OPERATION OF VEHICLE UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES CAUSING TIRE TO SPIN, LOSE TRACTION, OR LEAVE SURFACE
OF ROADWAY; OFFENSE. (a) An operator of a stationary vehicle may
not break traction to spin a tire of the vehicle by pressing the
accelerator and increasing the engine speed.
(b) An operator of a vehicle may not intentionally or
knowingly accelerate the vehicle in a manner that causes any tire of
the vehicle to:
(1) lose traction; or
(2) leave the surface of the highway.
(c) A person who violates this section commits an offense.
An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring