Texting While Driving Statistics/Information

During a July 2007 survey of 1,000 teens, AAA found that 46 percent text while drive.

A 2007 poll conducted by the group Students Against Destructive Decisions and the insurance group Liberty Mutual polled teens and found that 37 percent believed texting was the greatest distraction to teen drivers.

Currently, nine states have laws on the books banning texting while driving. Washington was the pioneer for this movement, passing its law in 2007. The other states are Alaska, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey and Oregon.

While 38 states have bans on cell phone use while driving, Texas has no such law.

When it comes to teen driving, put the danger of text-messaging while driving right up there with drunken driving as Public Enemies No. 1 and 1A on the nation's roads.


According to SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, instant and text messaging while driving leads the list as the biggest distraction while driving.


The study, released in July 2007 and conducted with more than 900 teens from 26 high schools nationwide, revealed that text-messaging while driving is becoming as dangerous as drinking and driving, in terms of inhibiting a teen’s driving abilities. Cell phone use accounts for 2,600 vehicle fatalities and 300,000 collisions annually.


Yet even while 37 percent of teens rated text messaging while driving as “extremely” or “very” distracting, they continue to send and receive text messaging in their moving vehicles anyway, the study reported.

Based on the extensive research over the past seven years, SADD and Liberty Mutual have set forth a number of guidelines for families – including preventing cell phone use in the car.


Interestingly, 52 percent of teens who say their parents are unlikely to follow through on punishment if they drive and text-message will continue to do -- compared to only 36 percent of teens who believe their parents would penalize them, according to the SADD/Liberty Mutual study.


Not surprisingly, the study also reports the biggest influence on how teens drive is their parents. Almost two-thirds of high school teens say their parents talk on a cell phone while driving; almost half say their parents speed; and almost a third say their parents don't wear a safety belt.


Read more: "Teen Driver Menace: Text-Messaging: Studies Show Texting While Driving Is Epidemic"

Survey by Nationwide - 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.

According to the AAA’s survey of teen drivers, 46 percent of the teens text message while driving and 51 percent talk on cell phones while driving. These are frightful statistics. The AAA reports that car and traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 20 years old.