May 22, 2009
Driving While Texting: 83 Percent Say Make it Illegal
By Gary Kim, Contributing Editor
Despite an increasing number of state bans on driving while texting (DWT) and numerous reports of texting-related accidents, 26 percent of U.S.
mobile-phone users send or receive text messages while behind the wheel, finds a study from Vlingo.
As of May 2009, seven states and the District of Columbia have laws completely prohibiting any person from sending text messages while operating a vehicle. However, the research found no correlation between regulation and DWT activity.
Two of the top five worst offender states (Tennessee., New Jersey, Idaho, Oklahoma and Alaska) have some form of DWT/mobile phone ban in place or pending.
Of the five states with the best records (Arizona, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio and Michigan), only Rhode Island has a ban on DWT and it only applies to those under the age of 18.
Almost 60 percent of the youngest U.S. drivers (ages 16 - 19) admit to DWT as do 49 percent of those ages 20 to 29, Vlingo says. Some 13 percent of people in their 50s admit to DWT.
About 83 percent of respondents think DWT should be illegal, though.
Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Gary’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Jessica Kostek
