It’s no secret that texting and driving has become a major concern in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and across the United States. As the number of smartphone users and texting accidents has risen in recent years, so have educational efforts designed to teach teens and high school students not to engage in these dangerous behaviors. Recent studies, however, indicate that these anti-distracted driving programs may be better aimed at older drivers who admitted to texting while driving more often than teenage drivers.

Our experienced car accident lawyers in Providence know that texting while driving is a dangerous habit for all drivers. No matter your age or driving experience, it’s important to remember to put your phone away while driving and not to send texts, post photos, or visit your favorite social media sites while behind the wheel.

Adults more likely to text while driving than teens

A recent study published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety suggests that young adults – namely drivers age 19-24 and 25-39 – are significantly more likely to text and drive than teenage drivers. The AAA study revealed the following information:

• Of drivers aged 16-18, a total of 58 reported cell phone use while driving. Twenty percent of teens in this age group said they used the phone fairly often. Thirty-one percent reported having sent a text or email while driving and 7 percent regularly send texts while driving.
• A total of 72 percent of drivers age 19-24 said they used the phone while driving, and 27 percent reported using their phone fairly often. Forty-two percent reported texting while driving and 11 percent said they text and drive regularly.
• Eighty-two percent of drivers aged 25-39 reported using their phone and nearly half – 42 percent – reported doing so fairly often. Of the drivers surveyed, 45 percent admitted to having sent or received texts while driving and 10 percent said they do it frequently.
• Among drivers aged 40-59, seventy-two percent reported using the phone while driving, with only 30 percent reporting as doing so on a regular basis. Drivers age 40-59 were also more likely to text, at 24 percent, and even less likely, at two percent, to text on a regular basis.
• Just over half – 51 percent – of drivers aged 60-74 reported using their phone while driving and only 15 percent reported doing so regularly. Only seven percent had sent a text while driving and one percent reported as doing so regularly.
• Among drivers aged 60-74, 51 percent said they use the phone while driving and 15 percent said they do so regularly. In this age group, seven percent had sent a text behind the wheel and one percent did so routinely.
• Thirty-one percent of drivers aged 75 and older reported using the phone while driving, but only seven percent do so regularly. Among drivers aged 75 and older, only one percent report either sending a text ever or sending a text regularly.

What this data suggests is that drivers with a little more experience behind-the-wheel might be more likely to text while driving. In the event of a texting-related car crash, though, it’s important for these drivers to remember that their experience won’t matter to an accident victim, their car accident lawyer, or law enforcement officials.

Car accident lawyers in Providence can help if you have been injured in an accident with a texting driver. Contact the Law Offices of Deborah G. Kohl at (508) 677-4900 for a free case consultation. 

This entry was posted on Friday, December 20th, 2013 at 8:37 pm and is filed under Car Accidents, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.