Austin Injury Lawyer: Texting and Web Distracted Driving Kills — Period

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) January 29, 2014 – Not a day passes without someone killed in a car accident caused by distracted driving.

“Smartphones are so popular these days that it’s a wonder anyone can still carry on a face-to-face conversation,” remarked Bobby Lee, an Austin distracted driving lawyer with Lee, Gober & Reyna. “People are thrilled that the phones allow them to multi-task, and that is a good thing in this day and age, but not so much when you are behind the wheel of a vehicle. The plain and simple fact of life is: you cannot pay attention to driving safely if you are texting or using any mobile device.”

Today’s smartphones allow people to tackle tasks from banking to shopping, but that ability can cause carnage on the roads. Digital activities should never be combined with driving.

State Farm insurance figures show that distracted driving has neither decreased nor increased dramatically over the last three years. In other words, a relatively large number of individuals, especially teens, have not changed their habits.

Thankfully, texting danger awareness does seem to be percolating through teen culture. Many young people are now discussing the impact of texting while driving more frequently and referring to doing so as a destructive decision — much like driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Unfortunately, another State Farm examination has revealed a different, alarming and potentially deadly trend. While more drivers are acknowledging texting and driving as a dangerous mix, the same may not be said for Internet practices In a five-year examination of a thousand people, surveyors found that internet use on the road is rising steadily. Surfing while driving has shown a dramatic uptick from 13 percent in 2009 to 24 percent in 2013.

“Internet use is even scarier than texting and checking for messages,” outlines Lee, “as the person surfing has their eyes off the road for an even longer period of time. Serious accidents waiting to happen. The point here is that the cool picture on Pinterest, a trending post on Twitter about Justin Bieber or that email about a dinner date is not more important than someone’s life.”

On-road Internet use is not just a teenage danger. The State Farm study showed that driving web use is on the rise in every age group, including those 65 years old and older.

Many people think hands-free technology solves the distraction problem. “It doesn’t. It still takes your mind off the road and distracts your attention,’ said Lee. “Leave the yakking for face-to-face meetings. Your life may depend on it.”

To learn more, visit http://www.lgrlawfirm.com

Lee, Gober & Reyna
11940 Jollyville Road #220-S
Austin, Texas 78759
Phone: 512.478.8080

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