Teens STILL texting and driving

In 2013, 108,000 licensed Ontario teens in grades 10 through 12 reported that they have texted while driving at least once within the last year. That is nearly one-third of licensed Ontario students! The 2013 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey also found that Grade 12 students were the most likely to text and drive, with a walloping 46% reporting they had within the past year.

For years now, we in the insurance industry (as well as elsewhere throughout the country) have been beating the “no texting and driving” drum, but with the kiddos, it seems to have fallen, at least partly, on deaf ears. While the good news is that 65% of our students have rated their health as either “very good” or “excellent,” they are still engaging in risky behaviors.

Why is texting and driving so bad? Let’s recap:

Texting and driving is distracted driving. Distracted driving leads to accidents, which lead to injuries and in extreme cases, death. When you take the time to respond to a text, you are taking your eyes, and your mind, off the road.

Let’s get this straight. Driving is hard. You might think that it is easy to just set your mind to autopilot and hit the road, but that line of thought is wrong. Driving is defensive; you have to be aware of what is happening around you. No matter what you think, you are not the only person on the road, which means that being a safe driver isn’t just for your benefit; it is for all of ours.

We need to spread the word to our teens that texting and driving is not okay. If they need to respond to a text, they should have a passenger do so for them. If there is no passenger, then they can either wait until they are no longer driving, or they can find a safe place to pull over.

Photo – © rnl – Fotolia.com