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May 14, 2012

Almost Half of Teens Admit Texting While Driving

By Kris Holt, TMCnet Contributing Writer

Despite a litany of technological gadgets and gizmos aimed at keeping a driver’s attention on the road while keeping them connected with the world at large, almost half of the teens surveyed by AT&T (News - Alert) say they text while behind the wheel.



In fact, 43 percent of the teens admitted to firing off an SMS to a buddy while driving. That’s despite three-quarters of them saying it’s a very dangerous thing to do.

A little over six out of ten teens say they’ve witnessed a friend reading or sending an email or text while operating a vehicle. Around 60 percent say they text while stopped at a red light, with 73 percent claiming they take a peek at their phone while halted at traffic lights.

Almost nine out of ten respondents said a mobile application aimed at halting texting while driving would help stop them and their friends from doing so. AT&T has an application, called DriveMode, that offers an auto-reply message to notify friends that the customer is driving and will get back to them when they’ve safely stopped the vehicle.

The results of the survey were published in light of AT&T’s driving safety campaign, Texting & Driving . . . It Can Wait. The telecommunications company aims to raise awareness about the issue and the dangers texting while driving brings. The company hopes to mobilize all mobile phone users towards becoming part of the solution.

Throughout May, AT&T is taking a virtual simulator on the road to illustrate the dangers of texting while driving. The simulator shows teens, in a completely safe environment, how hazardous it can be to take their eyes off the road even for a second.

"Many people don't realize how big a risk they are taking every time they take their eyes off the road," said Ken McNeely, president of AT&T California. "But the reality is, they are risking not only their own lives, but the lives of others, every time they send or read a text while driving. It is a serious issue that has a simple solution: just don't do it."

AT&T is also raising awareness of the issue through a youth summit at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, California, on May 19.

There are ways other than mobile applications to stop drivers from looking at their phone screens while on the road. Ford’s Sync package, for instance, offers the option to read smartphone texts out loud.




Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli
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