Texting While Driving

do teenagers really text while driving more than adults?

Tahoma+Sophomore+Bianca+Timmerman+showing+how+teens+text+and+drive.

Tahoma Sophomore Bianca Timmerman showing how teens text and drive.

Brenna Wallace, Staff

1 out of every 4 motor vehicle accidents are caused by texting and driving. But are people correct when they say that teenagers text and drive more than adults? Before the holiday break 35 people, both teenagers and adults, answered questions in an online survey about their personal texting and driving habits, to find out whether or not teenagers use a cellphone while driving more than adults. Using multiple sources, including my own survey, I tried to find out if adults or teens give into using their cellphones while operating a motor vehicle. Many people agree that teenagers are the real problem when it comes to texting and driving, but there are also a lot of people who argue that adults are the majority of drivers who text while operating their vehicle.

From the survey I made, a popular reason for why most people would go on their phone while they are driving was to answer a text message or a phone call. A survey from AAA done in 2015 showed that teens talk on their phones while driving significantly less than adults, and drivers ages 16-18 are less likely to to use their cellphone while driving than drivers ages 19-39. An article written by Larry Copeland from USA Today, shows that 49 percent of adult drivers admit to looking at their cellphones while driving, and 43 percent of teens admit to doing the same, and although those percentages are pretty close, John Ulczycki from the National Safety Center argues, “Teens text. But you’re looking at around 10 million teen drivers, and about 180 million other adult drivers.”

A survey done by AT&T revealed about 98 percent of adults interviewed said that they knew texting and driving was not safe. In my survey, I asked participants if they thought that there should be a ban on the use of handheld electronics while driving a car. 68.6 percent  said yes, while 31.4 percent said no. When asked why cell phones should or should not be banned while driving, an answer from Stacie Kelly, an adult driver who responded “no” was “As long as they are used responsibly (no texting, emailing, or watching movies) they are no more distractions by than a GPS stand alone, map, or radio. If using the phone to talk, then it should only be hands free (via bluetooth).” When asked the same question, Tahoma sophomore Avery Peter responded that yes, cell phones should be banned, adding “at least for new drivers, they aren’t experienced enough.” Tahoma sophomore Jarrod Hood, who also responded “yes” to banning the use of handheld devices while driving, said, “they cause more problems than solutions, and many people end up hurt due to people not paying attention to the road because of them.” An additional 6 Tahoma students responded “yes” because “it’s dangerous.”

 

 

In an article from CNN by Eva Vasquez, a study done by Pew Research Center shows that the youngest generation of adults are the ones more likely to text while driving than anyone. The report found that “Adults were substantially more likely than teens to have talked on their cell phones while driving.” About 47 percent of the adults that were interviewed for the study, reported that they had sent/received text messages or made calls while driving. Meanwhile, only 34 percent of teens reported that they had done the same while driving. Although the two studies show different percentages, they both show that teens are less likely to text while driving than adults are.

“The threat of a suspended license appears to be the most effective deterrent, followed by the possibility of a $500 ticket.” An article written by Hayley Tsukayama said that “Parents behaviour has a big influence on their (teenagers) actions.” If a parent doesn’t enforce rules with their children about texting while driving, they will be more likely to send messages while they are behind the wheel. Parents actions will also be reflected on their kids. If parents are texting while driving, they may be influencing their children, making it seem like texting while driving is ok, without even noticing it. Other factors of teens sending messages behind the wheel, according to the same article, “included whether a teen had a full- or part-time job, owned a smartphone or usually sent over 100 text messages per day.”

A research study done by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute reported that a parent’s actions have a powerful influence on their kids and what they choose to do. According to the National Safety Council, “teenagers first year behind the wheel is among the most dangerous in their lives.” In the article by The Atlantic, a 17 year old; Kristin Weyenberg said “that while her parents set a good example by always buckling their seat belts, they are often less careful about phone use while driving.” It shows that children are more likely to watch what their parents do while driving and soon copy those actions once they get their driver’s license; actions include texting, wearing a seat belt, or handling passenger issues like searching the car for something while still operating the vehicle. The survey revealed that a common distraction for teenage drivers is handling their music choices. “More than half of teens surveyed, 53 percent, say they look for music on a portable music player while driving, compared to only 12 percent of parents.” Tahoma sophomore Avery Peter said “queuing up those jams on Spotify” in response to why she might go on her phone while driving.

Experts say that the most important thing parents can do to prevent their children getting injured in car accidents caused by distracted driving, is to talk to them about safe driving expectations; things like how many passengers to have in your car at a time, or when it’s a good time to look at your phone and when it’s not a good time. Teenagers may or may not be texting while driving as much as adults do, but if one thing is true, it’s that a parents actions can influence their child’s actions as they grow up, and the best thing to keep children safe is to teach them how to be responsible when it comes to making decisions while driving, Drivers Ed classes show videos and tell stories about the repercussions of texting while driving, and while those may have some effect to convince teens to not go on their phones while driving, bringing those lessons home and having parents follow up, may be able to altogether reduce the amount of crashes in both teens and adults due to distracted driving, and also reduce how much teens text while they are behind the wheel.