44% of Teen Drivers Admit to Texting

Though more than 90 percent of teenage drivers say they understand that texting while driving is distracting, 44 percent say they still engage in the practice, according to a new survey released by State Farm.

When asked to choose the top three things that would deter them from reading or responding to text messages behind the wheel, surveyed teen drivers made “concern about crashing” the number-one answer (51 percent). The next most-popular answer was “getting caught by police” (50 percent).

Other common responses included:

• Desire to arrive safely at my destination (33 percent)
• Knowing someone who has caused a crash while texting (23 percent)
• Hearing stories about crashes caused by texting (17 percent)
• Getting caught by parents (13 percent)
• Friends encouraging safe driving (10 percent)
• Parent/teen safe driving contracts (6 percent).