NY / NJ Car Accident Lawyer Calls on Parents to Engage Teen Drivers about Dangers of Texting and Using Cell Phones Behind the Wheel

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New York / New Jersey car accident attorney Joseph A. Ginarte

[T]eenage drivers can be taught to act in a responsible manner – and that would include not engaging in texting while driving and other distracted driving activities.

Newark, N.J. (PRWEB) June 26, 2012

New York / New Jersey car accident attorney Joseph A. Ginarte today said it is vitally important for parents to talk to their young drivers about safe driving in light of a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ginarte, founder of the New York / New Jersey personal injury firm of Ginarte O’Dwyer Gonzalez Gallardo & Winograd, LLP, pointed to the report’s finding that public campaigns encouraging seatbelt use and discouraging drunk driving have proven persuasive with underage drivers.

But, according to the report, texting and emailing while driving have become a growing, prevalent risk among teen drivers.

“The CDC’s statistics about increased seatbelt use and decreased alcohol use show that young drivers do understand what is and isn’t safe driving,” Ginarte said.

“It shows that teenage drivers can be taught to act in a responsible manner – and that would include not engaging in texting while driving and other distracted driving activities,” Ginarte continued. “A young person’s most effective teachers are their parents. They must get involved with this issue.”

The CDC said in a news release about its annual National Youth Risk Behavior Survey that high school-age drivers had made “significant progress over the past two decades” in seatbelt and alcohol use while driving.

The percentage of high school students who never or rarely wore a seatbelt declined from 26 to 8 percent from 1991 to 2011, the report said. The percentage of high school students who said they had driven a car during the previous 30 days when they had been drinking alcohol decreased from 17 percent in 1997 to 8 percent in 2011.

But the report showed that 1 in 3 high school students admitted to having texted or emailed while driving a car or another motor vehicle during the previous 30 days.

Motor vehicle crashes account for more than 1 in 3 teenage deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC.

“We know that, because of their youth and inexperience, teenage drivers are more likely to get into car accidents,” Ginarte said. “But crashing a motor vehicle because you are engaging in an activity that you know to be wrong is careless and reckless behavior, and that can’t be excused.”

Ginarte’s firm investigates auto accidents in the prosecution of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. He pointed out that texting while driving or using a hand-held cell phone while behind the wheel is illegal in New York and New Jersey.

“Our law firm supports all efforts to ensure traffic safety,” the veteran personal injury attorney said. “At the same time, we will do everything we can to protect the rights of accident victims.

“Anyone injured because of another driver’s negligence or recklessness deserves to be made whole financially. They should contact a lawyer as soon as possible for assistance.”

About Ginarte O’Dwyer Gonzalez Gallardo & Winograd, LLP

For more than 30 years, Ginarte O’Dwyer Gonzalez Gallardo & Winograd, LLP, has served the residents of the New Jersey and New York metro area. In addition to its general practice, the firm assists clients with legal claims arising from car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice and other personal injury cases. The firm also represents clients in employment discrimination, Social Security Disability and workers’ compensation matters. The Ginarte law firm features a team of 25 lawyers and 85 staff members and offices located in New York City, Newark, Elizabeth, Clifton, Union City and Perth Amboy. The firm’s Newark office is located at 400 Market Street, Newark, N.J., 07105 (local phone number (973) 854-8400. The firm can assist Spanish-speaking and Portugese-speaking clients. To learn more, call 1-888-GINARTE or use the firm’s online contact form.

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