AAA Reports That Adults Text More Than Teens While Driving

Chicago, IL (Law Firm Newswire) March 7, 2014 – A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found that adults text more than teens while driving.

While conventional wisdom tends to blame teens the most for texting while driving, the AAA report found that significant numbers of people in all age groups reported using phones, including their text messaging functions, while behind the wheel. Adults aged 25-39 were worse offenders than teens.

“It is worth noting that teen drivers may not text while driving as often as is assumed, and that’s a good thing, since young drivers are also very inexperienced,” says Paul Greenberg, a Chicago car accident attorney. “However, texting while driving is extremely dangerous, no matter how experienced the driver is.”

The study found that 82 percent of drivers of ages 25-39 reported using their phone in some manner while driving, and 43 percent admitted to doing so on a regular basis. Among drivers of ages 19-24, 72 percent admitted using a phone behind the wheel, 27 percent regularly. Both age groups used their phones more than those drivers aged 16-18. Fifty-eight percent of that age group said they used a phone while driving, 20 percent on a regular basis.

Adult drivers were also the worst offenders for text and email-specific choices. Forty-five percent of drivers aged 25-39 admitted that they had done so recently, and 10 percent said they did so regularly. Among drivers aged 19-24, 42 percent said they had texted while driving recently, and 11 percent admitted to doing so on a regular basis. Teens were less frequent offenders, with 31 percent in the 16-18 age group texting behind the wheel recently, 7 percent regularly.

The survey relied on self-reporting, so the honest numbers may be higher for all age groups. Drivers in all age groups are aware of the risks. Nine out of ten drivers surveyed said that distracted driving is a bigger problem now than it was three years ago, and that drivers’ useage of their phones poses a serious safety issue.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 3,000 fatal crashes each year — 10 percent of the total — involve distracted driving.