Does Your Teen Text Behind the Wheel?

July 2007

Parents – is your teen texting while driving? If you answered yes, then your daughter or son might be one of the 46 percent of drivers under 18 years of age that admit to sending text messages behind the wheel.

Just last month, a 17-year-old driver in New York died in an accident that also claimed the lives of four recent high school graduates. Her SUV was in a head-on collision with a tractor trailer, and guess what were sent and received just moments before the crash: text messages on her cell phone.

Research reveals that distraction is a factor in 25 to 50 percent of all car crashes. With 61 percent of teen drivers admitting to risky driving habits, the statistics look grim for the generation of under 18 drivers who spend more time on their cell phones sending text messages than making phone calls.