Study: Adults Set Poor Example for Text-Driving Teens

Posted 06/21/2010 at 4:51am | by Paul Lilly

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As it turns out, you're correct in cussing text-happy teens who get behind the wheel and pay equal parts attention to driving and texting, but save a few obscenities for adults, too. According to a new study by The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, grownups are just as likely to fire off a text while cruising down the road as teenagers are.

The research shows that some 47 percent of adults who text admit to doing so while driving. Compare that to a Pew study last year in which 34 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds said they send and receive texts while behind the wheel. After factoring in that not everyone owns a cell phone, the report said that 27 percent of of U.S. adults are guilty of texting while driving, compared to 26 percent of 16- and 17-year olds.

What's more, adults are more likely to yap at each other on their cell phones while driving, the study shows. That number comes out to 75 percent, compared to 52 percent of teenagers, or when using the same fuzzy math as before, 61 percent and 43 percent, respectively.