A new Pew Research Report reveals that up to 50% of teen drivers admit to texting and talking on their cell phones while driving.
According to the study by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C, which surveyed 800 teens up to age 17:
• 75 percent of teens have a cellphone, and more than half of them say they have talked on their cellphone while driving.
• 40 percent say they have been in a car when the driver used a cellphone “in a way that put themselves or others in danger.”
• 48 percent of teens say they have been in a car when the driver was texting.
• More than one-third of teens ages 16 or 17 who text say they have texted while driving.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski already has gone on record with his concerns. “Distracted driving endangers life and property and the current levels of injury and loss are unacceptable,” he sold a U.S. Senate committee last month.
He cited a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report in 2008 that said driver distraction is the cause of 16 percent of all fatal crashes, which translates to 5,800 people killed, and 21 percent of crashes that result in an injury, which is 515,000 people.
As I previously wrote, the U.S. Senate is now considering a bill that would completely ban texting while driving. I don’t t think that legislation could come soon enough. The statistics do not lie and apparently teens drivers do not view this as a dangerous activity.
To read the complete article from the Seattle Times, click here.
If you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident or truck accident, then contact attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.