Teens text more than adults probably realize

Texting and driving is something that anyone can do, from a 16-year-old who just got their license to an 80-year-old who has been driving for decades. It is always dangerous and should always be avoided, regardless of age, experience or any other factors.

That said, many conversations about texting and driving focus on teens and young adults. Why is this?

One reason is that younger drivers already have high crash rates and lack experience on the road. It is clear to an outsider that they really need to focus and pay attention. Texting makes it harder to do that. Multi-tasking always makes people worse at what they’re trying to accomplish — driving, working, talking, etc — but the risks just feel higher when those drivers already cause more accidents.

Another reason is just that many teens text far more often than adults, so they may be especially likely to text and drive. An adult may consider texting to be a common form of communication and send, say, a dozen texts every day. They may also be shocked to learn that a third of all teens send over 100 text messages every single day.

And that third is just the high end. Someone who sends 80 texts a day doesn’t fit into that category, but they’re still on the phone a lot and so the odds that they’ll get distracted while driving are higher.

It’s clear that communication styles have changed over the years, and those changes have increased the risks you face on the road. If you get injured by a texting driver, you may be able to seek financial compensation. An attorney can help you make sure that the process is fair when you’re dealing with the insurance company.