Enforcement is an Issue for Texting While Driving States Austin Injury Lawyer

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) December 28 , 2012 – It is one thing to have a law banning texting while driving. It is another to be able to enforce it.

“It’s good that there are laws banning the use of mobile devices when driving. Those kinds of laws are intended to save lives. The issue is enforcement. How does a police officer tell when someone is texting? If the offending driver sees a cop, they just lower the phone, or put it on the seat. It’s tough to just stop everyone in a car or other vehicle just because they are glancing down,” remarked Austin personal injury attorney Bobby Lee, of Lee, Gober and Reyna in Austin, Texas.

This is a major frustration for law enforcement. They have seen the grim results of what texting and driving, have informed far too many families that their loved one is dead, and have seen, time after time, the carnage that did not need to happen, but for someone thinking they could text and drive.

“Interestingly, there are some drivers who not only flaunt the no texting law, but insist it really doesn’t apply to them, because they’re good at it. They may well be good at it, but that does not mean the ‘other’ driver is. When you’re on the road, you are not alone. It is your duty to drive with care and due diligence. Care and due diligence do not belong together in the same sentence as texting while driving,” Lee insisted.

Consider the case of a young woman involved in a suspected distracted driving case. She is paralyzed as a result of the collision. She wonders out loud about enforcing the no texting law. For instance, in the Houston area, it seems many police departments are only handing out a small number of tickets each month. “In order for the law to work, it needs to be enforced and if there are issues enforcing it, this needs to be dealt with.”

In Conroe, police have handed out 13 tickets; Magnolia a grand total of 4; Bellaire have handed out 2; Galveston police have penned 60 and Missouri City 55. These figures, which cover the years 2010 to 2012, are a dismal indication of the success of enforcing texting while driving. Officers must prove the driver was texting, because, in essence, nothing else violates the law.

“This is where the rubber meets the road on enforcement,” points out Austin injury lawyer Lee, “because even though the ordinance may ban texting while driving, it allows a driver to scroll through their phone, and even dial. Hello? How does that help reduce the number of deaths linked to using a mobile device while driving? Who thought that one up?” wondered Lee.

Do not text and drive; not if you want to live the rest of your life as it was meant to be lived. Consider others while driving. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

To learn more, visit Austin personal injury lawyer and http://www.rwleelaw.com.

Lee, Gober and Reyna
11824 Jollyville Road, Suite 302
Austin, Texas 78759
Phone: 512.478.8080

• Left turns are deadly for bikers
  It’s no secret that riding a motorcycle can be dangerous. Even safety gear cannot protect against death if there is an accident and the impact is “blunt force.” There are advantages and disadvantages about riding a motorcycle. The advantages include having a smaller vehicle, one that costs less to gas up, one that is less expensive to register, a vehicle that easy to park, the enjoyment of the wind on your face and the views you can have on a ride makes for some spectacular trips. The disadvantage to riding a bike is the kill rate when one is involved [...]
• Snow and booze do not mix
  It’s tough enough driving in snowy weather without being drunk. It’s a true miracle that the victim in this crash was able to survive with a broken arm, and not end up dead in a wreckage of twisted metal and glass. It was a cold, blustery, wintery night and a bad storm was dumping snow faster than snowplows could keep up with it. The highway was touch and go, with limited visibility, swirling snow, drifting snow and icy patches. Those traveling on the road were moving slower than the posted speed limit, because it was the smart thing to do. [...]
• Bellwether transvaginal mesh lawsuits begin December 2013
  Just about daily, more transvaginal lawsuits are filed across the nation. The suits being filed daily are the tip of the iceberg. The massive number of complainants has prompted the judicial system to pull everything together under one umbrella; a situation referred to as mass tort litigation or multidistrict litigations. Given the number of cases and the serious injuries involved, not to mention the length of time it would take to get all the cases to trial, due to preparation time, a U.S. district judge announced that the first five bellwether trials involve defendants American Medical Systems (MDL 2325), Boston [...]

See other news sources publishing this article. BETA | Tags: Austin accident attorney, Austin accident lawyer, Austin injury attorney, Austin injury lawyer, Austin personal injury, Austin personal injury attorney, Austin personal injury lawyer