Teens text while driving because ignoring friends seems rude
One way that teenagers will try to get away with texting while driving is to wear sunglasses so police officers can't tell. -- Pew Internet and American Life Project
Every time Carter Falah, 17, gets into a car, he starts to text. The Edison High School student said that on average he sends up to five texts while driving.
Falah said texting while driving is multi-tasking, which makes him feel good, and he wants to stay in contact with his friends. He’s a safe enough driver that he can do it and isn’t worried about anything going wrong, he said.
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, 26 percent of teens have texted while driving. Pew conducted 800 phone interviews with 12- to 17-year-olds with a parent or guardian present for the survey.
For Minnesota teens, the most life-threatening thing out there is a car. “The leading cause of death of 15- to 17-year-old Minnesota teens is traffic crashes,” according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
And one of the top six causes of teen car crashes, the department reports, is inattentive driving. Texting while driving would fall under that category.
“The officer at the scene of a crash can list on the crash report if a driver was using a cell phone. However, the officer rarely does,” said Jon Walseth by email, a researcher with the Office of Traffic Safety at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Studies of automobile drivers by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that dialing a cell phone made the risk of crash or near-crash event 2.8 times as high as non-distracted driving. Talking or listening to a cell phone made the risk of crash or near-crash 1.3 times as high as non-distracted driving.
The Institute recommends that all cell phone use be banned for newly licensed teen drivers. “Our research has shown that teens tend to engage in cell phone tasks much more frequently — and in much more risky situations — than adults,” the Institute reports. “Thus, our studies indicate that teens are four times more likely to get into a related crash or near-crash event than their adult counterparts.”
“The likely reason: the driver does not admit to using a cell. Instead the driver will simply say: ‘I was distracted.’ Thus, it is certain that cell related crashes are understated,” Walseth said.
According to Judith Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, every year thousands of people in America are killed in vehicle crashes — 37,261 in 2008 alone. “The federal government estimates that nearly 6,000 of these deaths in 2008 were due to a distracted driver,” Stone said. “Such massive numbers can easily be called a public health crisis and banning texting while driving will lead to fewer deaths and injuries.”
Stone also said texting while driving involves three types of distraction simultaneously: visual — taking eyes off road; manual — taking hands off the steering wheel; and cognitive — taking your mind off the driving task. “Making it one of the most dangerous distractions of all,” Stone said.
Joe Heimerl, Jacob Bauer, and Dylan Rice, all licensed drivers from New Prague, have admitted to texting at least once while they were driving. They all have been driving for about one year. Bauer and Rice are 17 years old, Heimerl is 16 years old. Two of the three were aware that there was a law against texting while driving, but chose to do it anyway.
Heimerl said that he has done it maybe five times, and his brother does it for him while he is driving. He said that he did know that there was a law against it, but does it anyway to “keep in contact with people.” He felt that he needs to respond right away to texts because it’s rude to keep people waiting. He texts a lot of different friends and family members daily.
Stone questioned the right teens have to drive freely if they see nothing wrong with texting while operating a vehicle.
“I think they are not thoughtful drivers and their unrestricted driver’s license should be delayed,” she said.
According to parentingteens.com, 52 percent of teens text and drive because they know that their parents won’t punish them and can get away with doing it.
Heimerl, Bauer and Rice all admitted that they do sometimes text and drive because they know that they can get away with it. Now, all three know that it is wrong to do.
One way that teenagers will try to get away with texting while driving is to wear sunglasses so police officers can’t tell, according to the Pew survey.
One AAA study says that parents who want to help their teenagers with this problem have three possible ways to do it.
First, parents can set a good example, like resist talking or texting while their teenager is in the car. Second, they can set rules or consequences, like letting friends and family members know about your rules, and ask them to watch the teenager. Finally, you could just restrict the temptation by reducing how much they can text on their phones.
A new law called the No Texting While Driving Law is attempting to put a stop to drivers that are texting.
As of August 1, 2008, no Minnesota driver is permitted to text while driving.
The consequences for this offense are minor, but it may teach people to not text and drive. The fine is $20 for the first offense. The fine for additional offenses increases. If you do get pulled over and receive a ticket, it is not put on your police records and doesn’t affect anyone in the vehicle except for the driver.
“Passing laws that ban texting while driving is a good way to begin educating the society that there are many dangers associated with this behavior,” Stone said. “It will take time for people to change but sometime in the near future we will remember and be amazed that there were people who used to text and drive.”
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