Local lawyer and Whitman parent Salvatore Zambri presented an assembly on “The Tragic Consequences of Distracted Driving” Nov. 15.

At his law practice, Zambri frequently represents victims of distracted drivers, so he has witnessed the consequences of careless driving. He decided to give back to the community by educating students and adults about the dangers of driving distractions, such as cell phones, intoxication, talking with passengers and loud music while driving.

“I deal with tragedy,” he said. “So as a community service, I would really like to go out and tell people how to avoid being in my office someday.”

Texting while driving is illegal in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and related crashes can carry criminal as well as civil consequences.

But eighty percent of drivers use cell phones while driving, Zambri said. He believes that once people text a few times while driving and don’t die or kill anyone, they develop a false sense of security with the practice.

“You’re just going to have to wait to text until you get to your destination,” he said. “Your life is too important.”

Zambri cited several tragic examples from his experience in law and presented a video of a distracted driver hitting a college student, who sustained permanent brain damage. He emphasized no one is exempt from the risks of distracted driving, and these risks aren’t simply dramatized or exaggerated.

“It’s not a movie,” Zambri said. “It’s not something on Youtube that’s fabricated. It’s real life. It’s already happened in your community at least twice, and it’s going to happen again this year at least twice.”

Sending or receiving a text distracts a driver for a minimum of five seconds, Zambri said. It increases a driver’s risk of crashing by 24 times, three times the risk of driving drunk, he said.

A distracted driving-related crash leads to emotional effects as well as financial obligations for the driver, Zambri said.

“There are huge ripple effects to being distracted for two seconds,” Zambri said.

He also showed a graphic dramatized video of a car crash. Zambri stressed that though the video was staged, the situation was very realistic.

“If this is not real enough for you, come to my office,” he said. “I can make it real. It’s really serious business.”

Zambri also discussed the three phases of driver reaction time — mental processing, movement time and device response time — to demonstrate that even an undistracted driver must always be alert and drive defensively.

Lastly, Zambri presented a set of rules he considers non-negotiable for anyone driving or riding in a car. They include never driving distracted or drunk, always wearing a seatbelt and demanding the same from friends and family.

“I want to give you some rules without any exceptions or any strikes,” he said. “Nine out of 10 times is not good enough. The 10th time could be the time something happens. Don’t play roulette with your life.”

Zambri said he understands that teenagers have a hard time standing up to each other and to adults, but he said the risks are too great to ignore. Being safe is much more important that being “cool,” he said.

“I just don’t want you in my office,” he said. “Be proactive. Be really strong about this issue.”