Adult drivers now text more than teen drivers do


Many of the campaigns to stop texting and driving have been aimed at hyper-connected teens, but a new survey from AT&T shows adults are more likely to be driving distracted.

Nearly half of adults surveyed, 49 percent, said they text and drive — even though nearly all of them say they know the habit is dangerous. Ninety-eight percent of adult drivers surveyed said they know that distracted driving isn’t safe. But the trend actually appears to be on the rise, AT&T said, as 6 in 10 drivers said they never texted behind the wheel only three years ago.

The top reasons that adults gave for their behavior were that sending a text while driving has become second nature, they feel it makes them more productive, and it helps them feel connected.


The survey on teens provided a bit more data on why young people choose to text and drive. One reason is that most text-message users, the survey said, expect a reply within five minutes or less —48 percent of teens said they expect a response right away once they fire off a text message.

Parents’ behavior, teens said, has a big influence on their own actions. AT&T found that not having a parental rule against texting and driving is among the greatest predictors that a teen will send messages while driving.Other factors included whether a teen had a full- or part-time job, owned a smartphone or usually sent more than 100 text messages per day.

AT&T used the results to talk about its “Texting and Driving ... It Can Wait” campaign, which encourages drivers to take a pledge not to use text messaging behind the wheel.

When it comes to deterring the practice, AT&T found that the threat of a suspended license appears to be the most-effective deterrent, followed by the possibility of a $500 ticket.Communities across Ohio have bans on texting while driving, and the state passed a law last year. It bans typing, sending or reading cellphone text messages but not having cellphone conversations. It does ban drivers younger than 18, though, from using any electronic device, including cellphones, MP3 players, GPS systems, on-board computers and hands-free accessories.