MNN - Mother Nature Network

Teens and young adults don't claim ignorance when it comes to the dangers of distracted driving. In fact, one in five knows someone who had been in a crash caused by using a phone while driving, according to a survey released May 8 by Consumer Reports. However, understanding the dangers doesn't keep people from calling while driving.

 

And though young drivers may be getting told by their parents to pull over before using the phone, Mom and Dad aren't following their own advice. Forty-eight percent of the 1,049 young drivers surveyed said they had witnessed their parents talking on a cell phone while driving.

 

Only 15 percent caught their parents texting, but that simply may be a reflection of older people's preference for calling instead of texting.

 

Calling seems to be more enticing than texting for younger drivers, too. Nearly half of the 16- to 21-year-olds surveyed said they had made a call behind the wheel, while 29 percent said they had texted.

 

Having someone else in the car — friends or parents — helped reduce the use of phones. Almost 50 percent said they had asked a driver to stop using a phone because they feared for their safety.

 

Related on TechNewsDaily:

 

Copyright 2012 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.