The top stories on CBS4.com
Apr 14, 2009 7:53 pm US/Eastern
Texting And Driving Is Considered A Deadly Mix
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Nova High school student Max Scheiner confesses that when he drives, the music is played loudly. When he pulls up into the student parking lot, he might crank it up a bit more. He explained to CBS4 – riding with him – that he can still stay focused on the road no matter what the distraction.
His classmate Monica Levin admits that she sends text messages while driving and concedes she takes her eyes off the road in the process. "My mom has warned me," she admits.
These 18 year olds are the targets of a new ad campaign running on South Florida movie screens. The ads are produced by the Dori Slosberg Foundation. In one ad, a young girl - with friends in her car - looks at her text messages while driving and fails to see an oncoming truck.
The foundation's founder says distracted driving is the new scourge of the highway. Irv Slosberg says it is actually worse than drinking and driving. His daughter died because of a distracted driver.
He believes it's time for lawmakers in Tallahassee to take further steps against these hazards. Slosberg is pushing for laws to raise the driving age from 16 to 17 and a ban on texting while driving.
"Right now, statistics show that 87 percent of all traffic fatalities involving young drivers are the result of a distracted driver. Often it's the teens themselves", says Kyle Dailey, director of Drivers Education in Broward County high schools.
Ultimately, the best way to get this message across is through students' peers. That's why a young man named Rocky Keller could be so vital to this cause. The 17 year old has launched a student group called STATIC, "Stop Texting And Talking In Your Cars".
"I think when you hear it from your peers, maybe it will sink in a bit more," said Keller.
Studies have shown that drivers who text on their mobile phones while at the wheel pose a greater risk to pedestrians and other drivers than those who've hit the bottle before getting behind the wheel.
Research released in 2008 by the
British Royal Automobile Club Foundation, found that steering while texting is almost non-existent and much more dangerous than even those trying to remain in control after smoking marijuana.
The report also found that those who text and drive were found to be more than a third slower than normal, compared to those who used drugs or were drinking at a normal legal limit of alcohol.
British researchers found texting decreased a driver's reaction time 35%, while marijuana smoking decreased reaction time by 21%, and alcohol only decreased it by 12%.
In the U.S., a survey by American Automobile Association in 2007, found 46 percent of teens admitted that they text-message while driving.
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