George recently sat down with Claudia Garofalo from San Antonio Living to discuss the dangers of driving and texting. If you’ve been in an accident as a result of distracted driving, it’s important to consult with a lawyer to discuss your rights.
Video transcript below.
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Claudia Garofalo:
Alright everyone, well distracted driving leads to so many car accidents and injuries and if you find yourself as a victim in a situation like this there’s a local lawyer that can help you through this difficult process. Please welcome, George Salinas, he is an attorney, a personal injury attorney. You’ve been a personal injury attorney since 2005?
George Salinas:
Correct, I’ve been out since ‘05, and started doing that, the side that I’m on about a year after I start became a lawyer, I was on the other side first, and switch sides to do what I’m doing now.
Claudia Garofalo:
Yes, I was talking with you right before we came on, and you were saying how passionate you are about keeping those roads safe and the stats are incredible when you think about how many people are involved in accidents due to tweeting, swiping, texting, it’s every day!
George Salinas:
Yes, it’s staggering, the statistics just keep growing and growing every year. Right now there’s about 400,000 people that are injured every year because of distracted driving. 4,000 people killed every year because of distracted driving. In addition to that, when you’re using your phone and you’re on the road and you’re sending a text or you’re reading a text, your chances of being a collision are six times higher at that moment. When you consider that risk and the risk that it poses to others you would put that phone down.
Claudia Garofalo:
Absolutely and that’s the reality here, it’s dangerous for other drivers who aren’t texting, who are just going on their merry way, but these accidents are really growing in number and I see it every single day. Why do you think it’s been so difficult to control, even though it’s become a law here in San Antonio, the texting and use of cell phones?
George Salinas:
Well, one of the issues is that we don’t have a state-wide band on texting while driving. We’re one of the few states that doesn’t currently have that. There’s a bill right now in the Senate, Senate Bill 31, that they’re considering in order to ban that state wide. I mean that’s one thing [that would help].
It would be better to have law-enforcement to have a way to enforce that. Secondly, I don’t think people really appreciate the risk that it [texting and driving] poses. I mentioned earlier that there’s really three categories of distracted driving. You’ve got your visual, where your eyes are off the road. Manual, where your hands aren’t on the wheel. And then you’ve got your cognitive, where your mind’s not on the road. Cell phones pose a very unique risk because they involve all three categories.
Claudia Garofalo:
They really do.
George Salinas:
You’re doing all three of those at one time. And so the statistics behind what your mind is doing when you’re driving, when you’re using a phone are also alarming. Usually, on average, it takes 5 seconds to read one text. On average, it takes 3 seconds to have an accident once you start using your phone. You do the math and that’s scary.
Claudia Garofalo:
It really is scary, especially as parents. We’re talking about kids, and you’ve got to think about it and say “wow, what is it going to take to get these people who still want to use their cell phone while driving?”
Let’s talk a little bit about your clients, when they’re involved in an accident involving a distracted driver, what do you do to help them? Because I know sometimes it’s got to be a little hard to prove “yes, that person was texting.”
George Salinas:
Right, first of all, a lot of times we have witnesses that can say, or who are good enough to go to the scene and tell them “I saw this person on their phone.” You’d be surprise, some people admit at the scene that they were texting while driving.
Claudia Garofalo:
Really? Okay.
George Salinas:
But in cases where we have very serious injuries, we’ve got cases involving fatalities, we can actually go back and figure out if an individual was sending a text, was browsing the internet, even if they delete that. So, there are forensic experts that we utilize that can provide that information to us. So, there is a lot of data now, in order to trace that. You can’t just put your phone down and say “oh I wasn’t using it.”
Claudia Garofalo:
Oh no, and the technology is advancing and I mean, obviously, the way the epidemic is growing with distracted driving you do need a good attorney. And I think your overall message today is “let’s keep those roads safe and get off those cell phones.”
George Salinas:
Exactly.
Claudia Garofalo:
Thank you so much for being with us today, wonderful message. Here is how you can get a hold of The Law Offices of George Salinas: Salinas. They are on IH-10 West, Suite 970, San Antonio, Texas. Their phone number for you to call is (210) 225-0909. You can learn more about them at GeorgeSalinas.com or find them on Facebook and send them a friend request.