43% Of U.S. Teens Text While Driving Without Caring About Consequences

Sites include ATT.com . Published on June 2nd, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

If driving while talking on the phone is equivalent to driving while drunk, then driving while texting must be tantamount to being asleep. Yet this despite these very dangerous implications, lots of people (especially teens) do both without regard for the consequences.

A new study conducted by AT&T found that 43% of teens admit to texting while driving. And it young adults didn’t fare much different either. Several of the young adult respondents admitted to the practice. AT&T is presently running a campaign dubbed ‘It can wait’. The campaign is aimed at reducing road fatalities in the run-up to prom season and the holidays.

The study found some interesting facts about teen texting too. Most for instance, admit that the only reason they text and drive is because of the pressure they feel to respond to a text. Things got even more confusing with some of the responses. 71% of teens for instance, admitted that texting while at a red light is very dangerous, yet a whopping 70% of teens admitted to doing it.

Consequences doesn’t seem to be a deterrent and even with the fact that texting while driving leaves you 23 times more likely to be in an accident, many teens (and adults) continue to practice this very dangerous act.

Unless wholesale laws banning the use of phones while driving are enacted, and with tough penalties, I can’t see the fatalities as a result of such idiocy going down.

What do you think is the solution to teens texting and driving? Share your thoughts using the comments below.