A recent survey revealed that teens are not so concerned about the dangers of texting while driving. Almost 50 percent of them chose to ignore the state laws and campaigns against distracted driving.
A research team from Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York presented the results of their survey done last 2011 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting. It highlighted that 43 percent of high school student drivers admitted that they have texted at least once during the past 30 days.
Alexandra Bailin, head of the research team, said that texting while driving is already a public issue. While teens are naturally risk takers, the public should still ensure the health and security of these drivers, their passengers and the neighborhood by lowering the incidence of texting while driving.
In fact, the main cause of death among teens is vehicle-related accidents and texting while driving increases the risk by up to 23 times compared to normal accidents.
The research team analyzed the data of the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey facilitated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC). This survey is being conducted every two years to identify the top six risky behaviors of youths leading to death, disability and social problems.
7,833 high school students participated in the survey and responded when asked if they have texted or emailed while driving for the past 30 days. The researchers want to know if there is a connection between this behavior and other risky behaviors, and if the state laws were effective.
The findings showed that 46 percent of males and 40 percent for females have texted while driving. The frequency also increases with age from 26 percent of 15-year-olds to 52 percent of those over 18.
Moreover, the survey concluded that state laws don’t have a significant impact to these teens.
