Enforcement is an Issue for Texting While Driving States Austin Injury Lawyer
Dec 29, 2012
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
