Text Messaging Steers Teens Into Trouble

More than a quarter admit to texting while driving
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2007 4:47 PM CDT
Text Messaging Steers Teens Into Trouble
Supporters try to take photos with their cell phone cameras as Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani answers questions from the media Tuesday, July 17, 2007, in Hialeah, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)   (Associated Press)

Text messaging is growing into a serious hazard for young people, ABC reports. A new study showed that teens are texting at rates that border on addiction—some sending thousands of messages a month. Most alarmingly, however, a full 28% of teens admitted to texting while driving, a dangerous practice that distracts inexperienced motorists.

Five 17- and 18-year-old girls were killed in a crash in upstate New York last month that police say may have been caused by texting from behind the wheel. Lawmakers are starting to take action: Washington State has passed the first law banning texting from the road and New Jersey is expected to follow. (More teenager stories.)

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