New Report from Pew Internet & American Life Project: Teens and Distracted Driving
We wonder if Pew Internet is going to do the same type of study on adults? We also wonder if adults would admit to texting while driving and if they did, how those survey numbers would compare with what was learned for the following report?***
One in four (26%) of American teens of driving age say they have texted while driving, and half (48%) of all teens ages 12 to 17 say they’ve been a passenger while a driver has texted behind the wheel.
These findings form the centerpiece of a new report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project that looks at teens, mobile phones and distracted driving. The report is based on a telephone survey of 800 teens ages 12-17 and a parent or guardian as well as 9 focus groups with middle and high school students.
“Many teens understand the risks of texting behind the wheel,” said Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist at the Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the distracted driving report, “but the desire to stay connected is so strong for teens and their parents that safety sometimes takes a backseat to staying in touch with friends and family.”
Boys and girls are equally likely to report texting behind the wheel as well as riding with texting drivers. As teens get older, they are more likely to report riding with drivers who text.
“Cell phones are often seen as devices that can make our lives more efficient, allowing us to multi-task in our idle moments,” said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and co-author of the report, “and whether you’re a teenager or an adult, it’s tempting to think you can manage several different activities at once.”
*** Mary Madden, one of the authors of the report, sent the following in note via e-mail.
We don't currently have plans to field a survey of adults on this topic, as there are already a lot of sources for adult estimates of this activity. Aside from survey data, there have also been a lot of observational and naturalistic studies of adult drivers.
Finally, she gave today's report a bit more context:
...these questions were partof a much larger study of teens and mobile phones, and we felt that there was such a need for fresh impartial data on this issue that we decided to issue this release before any of the other material. The focus group findings--which give us more insight into the attitudes and experiences of teens who text at the wheel and those who think it's extremely dangerous--are really what set this study apart. What people can expect to see from us in the way of follow up is several additional reports that look at teen cell phone and internet use in greater detail.
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