Adults equally guilty of texting, talking while driving as teens--study

Youngsters have always been at the receiving end when it comes to reckless behavior of texting when driving, but the current research shows that habit is not simply a teen issue.

Lee Rainie, director of the Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the distractions report, stated, "It is just as hard for adults as it is for teenagers to resist chatting with friends and sending off that quick text even in the midst of heavy traffic.

"Constant mobile connectivity to friends, family and colleagues is a hallmark of age and it is hard to resist even in situations where it would seem smart to stay focused on the task at hand."

Adults were major offenders when it came to talking on their cell phones while driving. Nearly 61 percent admit to chatting as opposed to 43 percent teens.

Some key findings of the Pew Internet survey
As mobile use surges, Pew Internet and American Life Project conducted a nationwide phone survey of 2,252 American adults between April 29 and May 30.

The survey revealed that 82 percent of Americans over age 18 now have a cell phone and 58 percent of them text. About 75 percent of teens have mobile phones and 66 percent send texts.

Pew found that 27 percent adult drivers and 26 percent teens have texted while driving which is increasingly one of the most common forms of inattentive driving that can prove fatal for the driver and those round him.

Moreover, adults were major offenders when it came to talking on their cell phones while driving. Nearly 61 percent admit to chatting as opposed to 43 percent teens.

"Adults may be the ones sounding the alarm on the dangers of distracted driving, but they don’t always set the best example themselves," said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the report.

Other findings from the survey
Another key finding of the project was that, “49% of adults said they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on his/her cell phone and even more alarmingly 44% of adults said they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.”

Outside of driving, 17 percent adult pedestrians admitted to being so engrossed while talking or texting that they have physically bumped into another person or an object.

Texting banned in several states
Considering the tremendous perils of distractions while driving, 28 states have banned texting when behind the wheel and barred the use of mobile phones by novice drivers.

Seven states (California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington), D.C., and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.

Despite such strict measures, statistics reveal that at any given time nearly 2 million people are talking on their cell phones in the car.