Texting and Driving Is Dangerous for Teens

-------------------------------------------------
Cell Phones and Texting Endanger Teen Drivers

Disclaimer: You have requested a machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Neither Gale nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations.
Cell Phones and Texting Endanger Teen Drivers
Nancy Mann Jackson is a reporter who specializes in business and home and family issues.
Driver distraction is a national problem. Talking on a cell phone or texting causes drivers to lose their focus, often with deadly consequences. Driving is not a time to multitask, especially if the driver is a teenager. Nearly 28 percent of all vehicle crashes can be tied to talking on a cell phone or texting, according to the National Safety Council. Legislators and others are speaking out and taking action to curb distracted driving.
When Wil Craig tells his story, teens listen. In 2008, when he was an Indiana high school senior, Craig was riding in his girlfriend's car as she drove and texted at the same time. Distracted, she wrecked the car.
The driver had no serious injuries. But Craig suffered a collapsed lung, four broken ribs, and a traumatic brain injury. He spent eight weeks in a coma. After he learned to walk and talk again and eventually returned to school, Craig began sharing his story with other teenagers—so far more than 10,000—to help stop teen texting and driving.
-------------------------------------------------
Widespread Damage
There are many more people who need to hear Craig's message. Driver distraction has become a national problem, especially because cell phone use has increased. Look around the next time you're on the road (as a passenger, of course), and see how many drivers are talking or texting on their cell phones. That can lead them to take their focus off the road and cause serious, even fatal, accidents.
Nearly 28 percent of all vehicle crashes, or about 1.6 million each year, can be linked to talking on a cell phone or texting while driving, the National Safety Council estimates. The problem is especially dire for U.S. teens: Among those ages 16 and 17, some 26 percent have texted from behind the wheel. (And 43 percent of those in that age group admitted to talking on a cell phone while driving, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project study.)
-------------------------------------------------
The Worst Distraction
While there are many activities that can distract a driver, such as eating or adjusting the radio while driving, sending text messages may be the worst.
"Texting is among the most dangerous activities for drivers because it involves taking your eyes and attention off the roadway," says Justin McNaull, director of state relations for AAA, formerly known as the American Automobile Association. "Even taking your eyes off the road for two seconds doubles your chances of being in a crash."
Not convinced? Stats from a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study tell the story: * Compared with 16 other distracting activities, texting had the highest odds of causing a serious crash. * Drivers who were texting were 23.2 times more likely to crash than those drivers who weren't texting. * When texting, drivers took their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds.
Likewise, making phone calls, even with a hands-free headset, while driving is more dangerous than speaking to a passenger. That's because a passenger will pause in conversation when the driver needs to concentrate on the road.
Driving is a new skill for teens, so doing multiple things simultaneously takes more effort for them than for more experienced drivers.
"Even in conversation, an adult passenger can appreciate when the driver is doing something more demanding, like merging onto the highway," McNaull says. "Someone on a cell phone doesn't know or appreciate what the driver's doing."
Only 2 percent of people are able to safely multitask while driving, estimates David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah. He has studied the effect that cell phone use while driving has on the brain. Even though teens are more likely to try multitasking, they're part of that 98 percent who can't do it safely, Strayer says.
Driving is a new skill for teens, so doing multiple things simultaneously takes more effort for them than for more experienced drivers.
-------------------------------------------------
A Rising Legal Response
As the risks of texting while driving have become more obvious, lawmakers across the country have begun to take notice—and to take action. * Currently, laws in 30 states and the District of Columbia make it illegal to text or send e-mail while driving. * Eight states plus the District of Columbia completely ban the use of a handheld phone while driving. * Thirty-one states have separate restrictions for teens, including bans on using phones while driving or texting while driving.
The penalties for breaking those laws range from fines to jail time. On the federal level, texting while driving has been banned for interstate truck drivers, and Congress is considering several bills that would encourage all states to pass laws banning texting while driving.
Whether calling or texting while driving is restricted by law, smart drivers are rethinking the use of phones behind the wheel. However, it can be tough to ditch the phone.
Some teens even use technology to help them avoid texting while driving.
"People have a real desire to be connected and have the immediate ability to keep in touch with friends and family," McNaull says. "Giving up texting and talking on the phone while driving is hard."
To avoid the temptation, McNaull recommends simply turning off your phone and putting it away before getting behind the wheel. Talk to your parents, and let them know that if you don't respond to their phone calls or texts right away, it's because you're driving. Avoid calling or texting your friends if you know they're driving at the time.
Some teens even use technology to help them avoid texting while driving.
Zach Veach is a 15-year-old who races cars for Andretti Autosport. He began speaking out after a teen who had been driving for only two months was killed while texting in an accident near his home in Ohio.
To help other teens, Zach developed urTXT, an application for smart phones that sends an auto response to the sender of a text, letting the sender know that the recipient is driving and will respond later.
Like Zach, many teens are finding ways they can make a difference.
Nebraska teen Emily Reynolds says texting and driving was once a big problem among her friends. After her older sister, Cady, was killed in a crash at age 16, Emily's family started the C.A.R. Alliance for Safer Teen Driving (named for the initials of Cady Anne Reynolds). The group visits schools to share the dangers of distracted driving with those who are just beginning to drive.
Since the C.A.R. presentation at her school, Emily says, she's seen fewer and fewer classmates texting while driving. When she finds herself in a car with another teen who is texting, Emily, who's now 17, doesn't hesitate to speak up.
"I will absolutely say something, and it is usually along the lines of, 'You really shouldn't do that while you drive. Would you like me to text someone for you?'" she says. "Offering to do it for them gives a good alternative, and it gets the point across."
Zach goes even further. "The first time I see [other people] do it, I tell them that I don't want to lose my life and they don't know how dangerous texting and driving is," he says. "Most people tell me they do it all the time and nothing has happened. [If] they refuse [to stop], I turn their car off and take the keys until they agree to put the phone down."
Extreme? Maybe. But separating driving from cell phone use is a way to make sure crashes such as the one that forever changed Wil Craig's life never happen again.