Is it legal to leave a truck running on a driveway in Texas to warm up as freeze arrives?

Starting your truck to warm up on a cold Texas morning may sound sensible, but it could be illegal.

North Texas saw its first freeze this week after a scorcher of a summer season. Temperatures this week have been in the 40s and 50s, but dropped to the low 30s Monday night and Tuesday morning in some parts of the Metroplex. Halloween this year was brisk after the sun went down..

While warming up a truck on your driveway before heading to work may seem like an innocent task, in Texas, it’s not. Here’s what we know:

In Texas, is it illegal to leave a truck running on a driveway to warm up?

Under Texas Transportation Code, yes.

Section 545.404 states that an operator may not leave a vehicle unattended without first:

• Stopping the engine.
• Locking the ignition.
• Removing the key from the ignition.
• Setting the parking brake effectively.
• If parking on a grade, turning the front wheels to the curb or side of the highway.

For example, if you were to start your truck in the morning to warm up and then decided to head back inside, that’s illegal.

However, if you stayed in the truck while it warmed up, that’s perfectly legal.

What about remote starting a truck to warm up?

Remote starting a truck is the only way to avoid breaking state law.

Under the same Texas Transportation Code stated above, the law does not apply to an operator who starts their vehicle by using a remote starter that:

• Remotely starts the vehicle’s engine without placing the key in the ignition.
• Requires the key to be placed in the ignition or physically present in the vehicle before the vehicle can be operated.

Using the remote start function to warm up your vehicle while not in it is legal in this case.

How many vehicles are stolen in Texas every year?

The reason for the unattended vehicle laws in Texas is to prevent vehicle theft, which is something the state has plenty of.

Texas recorded over 105,000 vehicle thefts in 2022 alone, according to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. But that wasn’t the highest state total on the list, that goes to California which saw over 203,000 vehicle thefts in 2022.

The top 10 states with the highest theft rate per 100,000 residents in 2022 were:

1. Colorado- 731.28
2. Washington, D.C.- 700.06
3. Washington- 603.54
4. Oregon- 540.88
5. New Mexico- 540.57
6. California- 520.17
7. Missouri- 482.60
8. Nevada- 480.81
9. Texas- 350.10
10. Tennessee- 337.95

This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 2:39 PM.

Brayden Garcia

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Brayden Garcia is a service journalism reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Brayden mainly writes about weather and all things Taylor Sheridan-related.