Next Time Your Parents Get Mad at You for Texting in the Car, Show Them This!

Photo by Xtrah|KT via Flickr

Photo by Xtrah|KT via Flickr
Teens may not be the only ones driving recklessly. A recent study showed that adults are much more likely to talk on the phone while driving and they text just as much as teens do at the wheel. Pew Internet & American Life Project surveyed more than 2,000 adults, 18 years or older, about their driving habits. Nearly half of the adults who admitted to knowing how to text said they text in the car while only one in three teens text while driving.

An even higher percentage of adults talk on the phone while they drive. 75 percent of adults make phone calls in the car while only half of teens admitted to doing so. The survey, however, did not differentiate between talking with a hand free or hand held device because there is risk either way.

“There is not definitive research that shows they [hands free devices] significantly reduce the hazards of talking on the cell phone while driving,” said Mary Madden author of the survey.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed that any sort of phone use in the car increases risk of an accident because the driver is more likely to miss key visual and audio cues needed to avoid a crash.

Madden also stated that the results of the survey are impartial and non-partisan but she does believe the statistics prove that adults should better model safe and responsible driving for the younger generation.

“We are all trying to balance our obligations to respond and stay connected with the obligation to be a safe driver. And sometimes we are under the false impression that we can safely manage both tasks—and that both are of equal importance.” Said Madden.