Dylan Young, 18, poses for The Associated Press as a vehicle cruises by in North Arlington, N.J. Young, a senior at North Arlington High, was in a fender-bender accident caused by being distracted while texting and driving. More than half of high school seniors say they text or email while driving, according to a jarring new study that offers the first federal statistics on how common the dangerous habit is in teens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers Thursday. They come from a 2011 survey of about 15,000 high school students across the country. The study found 58 percent of high school seniors said that, in the previous month, they had texted or emailed while driving.By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA – Think your teen would never text while driving? More than half of high school seniors admitted in a government survey that they’ve done just that.
It’s the first time the question was asked in a teen poll on risky behavior, and the finding comes amid a renewed federal crackdown on distracted driving.
Texting and cellphone use behind the wheel is “a national epidemic,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday.