Texas is Fiddling About with a Text Ban on Drivers

Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) January 19, 2015 – Texas legislators have been attempting for the last three years to get a bill signed into law that would ban texting while driving. Governor Rick Perry kept vetoing it because he viewed it as micromanaging lives.

However, since Texas is set to welcome a new Republican Governor, Gregory Wayne Abbott, in January 2015, many speculate that he intends to sign the bill, previously approved by the Legislature in 2012, into law. Abbott is a lawyer and politician.

“Two children and two adults have died in a collision where the trucker was texting while driving and rear-ended another semi setting off a catastrophic chain wreck,” said Bobby Lee, an Austin personal injury attorney with Lee, Gober & Reyna. “Police want to mine the data on the trucker’s cellphone to see what he was doing just prior to the crash,”

Even though a ban on texting while driving is not likely to stop people from doing it anyway, the hope is that it would put teeth into the law. This issue is similar in nature to the ongoing battle to stop drinking and driving. Having laws in place to penalize drunk drivers has not stopped people from getting behind the wheels of vehicles while inebriated. For either law to work, there must be the intention to comply. Forty-four states have bans prohibiting texting while driving.

“It’s a proven fact that distracted drivers are eight times more likely to be involved in an accident. Put down or turn off your cellphones and think about the lives of others,” said Lee. In 2013 alone there were 94,943 collisions involving distracted driving. Resulting from these accidents were 459 deaths and 18,576 serious injuries. One in five Texas crashes involves a distracted driver.

For those involved in an accident with a distracted driver, reach out and connect with an experienced personal injury attorney. “Find out what your rights are and how to proceed to file a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation for your injuries,” advised Lee. “If you are seriously injured, you may need a level of compensation beyond that which an insurance company may offer you to expedite the case.”

To learn more, visit http://www.lgrlawfirm.com Lee, Gober & Reyna 11940 Jollyville Road #220-S Austin, Texas 78759 Phone: 512.478.8080