Hey, Adult Drivers: You Text More Than Kids

Just shy of half say they've done it, even though most know it's unsafe
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 28, 2013 11:12 AM CDT
Hey, 'Adult' Drivers: You Text More Than Kids
In this Sept. 20, 2011 file photo, a phone is held in a car in Brunswick, Maine.   (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach, File)

Cast aside your mental image of irresponsible teenagers who just have to text while they're driving. It turns out adults are even worse. Almost half of all adults surveyed by AT&T (49%) admitted to sneaking in a text while driving, USA Today reports, compared to 43% of teenagers. Indeed the problem is getting worse; 60% said that three years ago they'd never done it. And good luck running an awareness campaign, because 98% said they were well aware that texting while driving was dangerous.

"I was a little bit surprised," says one AT&T VP. "It was very sobering to realize that texting while driving by adults is not only high, it's really gone up in the last three years." A National Safety Council representative says it's adults we should be focusing on. "Teens text. But you're looking at around 10 million teen drivers, but about 180 million other adult drivers." (More distracted driving stories.)

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