Texting and Driving The No. 1 Cause of Death for U.S. Teens

Although it is clear that texting while driving is extremely unsafe, new research by the Cohen Children's Medical Center reveals that texting while driving is now responsible for more car accidents and fatalities among teen drivers than driving while drunk, making it the number one cause of death among U.S. teens, according to CBS News.

The study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, found that more than 3,000 teenagers die each year in the U.S. as a result of sending text messages while operating a motor vehicle. In contrast, about 2,700 are killed annually as a result of driving while under the influence of alcohol, as CBS News reported on Thursday.

Despite a national ad campaign and dialogue against the dangers of texting while driving, at least 50 percent of high school kids are texting when behind the wheel, as reported by CBS's Carolyn Gusoff.

The study suggested that laws against texting and driving that did not prevent teens from doing it, as 57 percent of teens in states with laws against texting while driving reported sending a text while driving, compared tor 59 percent who reported doing so in states where it is not illegal. Nonetheless, lawmakers are pushing for tougher distracted driver laws.

Long Island State Senator Charles Fuschillo proposed harsher penalties in March, including "increased fines for talking or texting on a cellphone and stricter measures for repeat offenders".

The penalty "goes up to $400," Fuschillo said. "But all the penalties in the world aren't going to stop someone from being irresponsible."

"The reality is kids aren't drinking seven days per week - they are carrying their phones and texting seven days per week, so you intuitively know this a more common occurrence," Dr. Andrew Adesman, Chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center said to Gusoff. Adesman, chief author of the study, proposed one possible solution of phone apps that restrict texts and calls from coming in when it detects the phone is in a moving car.

Statistics show that you are 23 times more likely to crash while texting and driving. In response to this, some schools have been taking measures to help ensure the safety of their student drivers. Students at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury and Freeport High School "participated in driving simulations demonstrating the dangers of texting behind the wheel," and some teachers are sending their students strong messages about the dangers of texting and driving.

Julius Khan, a Manhattan school teacher, told CBS News that he tells his students to "think about your mother and father crying over your grave or someone's else grave that you're responsible for killing."

"Pay attention to what you're doing because the life you save could be your own," Khan said.