Survey Shows Teens Pick up Texting-While-Driving Behavior from Parents
As a New Jersey personal injury lawyer, I have been concerned about the growing use of cell phones while driving by teens, and the tendency to text while behind the wheel. A new Pew survey shows that the problem may be worse then we believe.
The researchers surveyed 800 teens between the ages of 12 and 17 between June and September this year. Seventy four additional teens, who were part of 9 focus groups in New York, Atlanta, Denver and Anna Arbor were also surveyed. While some of the results were not too surprising, the others were extremely worrisome.
The survey suggests that about a quarter of teens aged between 16 and17 years admit to having texted while driving. These statistics were not a shocker, but what did concern me were the findings that approximately half of the respondents aged between 12 and 17 admitted to having been a passenger in a car with an adult driver texting at the wheel. In fact, these teens frequently saw their parents texting while driving.
Reactions to this behavior were mixed. While in some cases, teens admitted to being nervous or scared when their parents texted while at the wheel, other teens had grown used to such parental behavior, and thought texting while driving was not a big deal. It’s the second group of teen motorists that I am concerned about. Texting while driving is extremely dangerous, and when a teen sees his or her parent addicted to text messaging while at the wheel, it only helps to develop and foster such reckless behavior in impressionable young motorists.
As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I believe that parents have as much of a responsibility as schools and law enforcement authorities to develop safe driving practices in children. It’s alarming that so many parents seem to recklessly text at the wheel, unaware or uncaring that their children are observing and learning from them. Parents must step up and contribute to efforts to tackle the texting while driving menace.
