Majority of U.S. teens support stronger fines for texting while driving

Almost 80% of polled teenage drivers in the United States say stronger fines and law enforcement would help deter texting while driving, notes a new survey.

The State Farm/Harris interactive telephone survey, conducted from July 24 to 30, involved 650 teenagers between the ages of 14 to 18.

While a passenger in a car, 78% of surveyed teens pointed out a driver’s distracted behaviour, notes a press release from State Farm. In response, 84% of respondents said the driver stopped driving distracted.

Of the 16% of teen passengers who did not note the distracted behaviour, 48% reported they felt the driver could handle the distraction. “More education and conversations need to occur so teens understand that no one can handle driving distracted,” says Chris Mullen, director of technology research at State Farm.

Citing statistics from Traffic Injury Research Foundation, State Farm reports more than 700 young people are killed each year in road crashes in Canada and 50,000 are injured. These totals include the deaths of some 350 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 and the injury of 24,000.

Although teens may take an active role in discouraging texting and driving, many still continue to text themselves. In all, 34% of teens indicated they had engaged in texting while driving.