Texting and driving

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A third of teens say they?ve texted while driving - Computers- msnbc.com

A third of teens say they’ve texted while driving
Pew survey finds some are ‘blasé’ about it, others cite parents’ behaviors........

A third of teens ages 16 and 17 say they have texted while driving and 48 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting, according to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

While those findings may not surprise some, Pew senior research specialist Amanda Lenhart said she was surprised "to hear (from teens) about how it’s often parents or other adults who are doing the texting or talking and driving, and how for many teens, this is scary or worrisome behavior."

"Teens spoke not only of adults texting at the wheel, but also fumbling with GPS devices and being distracted because they're talking on the phone constantly," she said. "And the reactions from the teens we spoke with ranged from being really scared by these behaviors to feeling as though it wasn't a big deal."

'Drives like he's drunk'
One teen boy quoted in the study said his dad "drives like he's drunk. His phone is just like sitting right in front of his face, and he puts his knees on the bottom of the steering wheel and tries to text."

Another boy, a middle-school student, was asked how often he is in "moving vehicle when the driver sends a text message." His answer? "All the time. My mom, sister or brother will sit behind the wheel the whole time and just text away."

A more daring teen driver said he thinks "it's fine" to text and drive, and that he wears sunglasses while doing it "so the cops don't see" his eyes looking down at the phone screen.

But another teen, who espouses a zero-tolerance texting policy, said he will "snatch the phone" out of drivers' hands if they text, telling them, "Don't be driving in the car with me and doing that. ... I want to live until the end of this car ride."


(more at link)