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One In Three Teens Texts And Drives But We Have The Solution

Sep. 15, 2018 8:00 AM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Industry News / 11 Comments In fact, we have two solutions. If there is one day that parents universally dread and teens universally adore, it is the day they get their driver's license. Most teenagers long to get behind the wheel of a car, and those who are enthusiasts hope and pray that their parents will help them buy them something cool to drive. While many teens take the privilege of driving a car very seriously, a startling number of individuals take it for granted. An alarming study conducted by Reuters Health found that one in three teens in the US has admitted to texting while driving. BMW We are firm believers that texting while driving is one of the worst offenses you can perform in a car, second only to driving while drunk. Distracted driving can be extremely dangerous, far more than highly penalized offenses such as speeding. The study asked 101,397 teens age 14 and up, from 35 states (all but one of which has banned texting while driving for drivers 21 and under) whether they have ever texted while driving. Even with laws in place, 38% of respondents admitted to texting while driving at least once. The study proposes that we use "Social marketing techniques aimed at correcting teens' misperceptions, such as the belief that their friends engage in distracted driving behaviors more often than they do," and "providing positive incentives for not engaging in texting while driving and in-vehicle cellphone blocking technologies." BMW While we agree that phone-blocking technology in cars would be a great solution to the problem, we would like to offer two solutions of our own. The first is Apple Car Play and Android Auto. These may not be perfect solutions because teens will still be somewhat distracted by having a conversation, but they do allow drivers to dictate their texts by voice and have them read aloud, so they can keep their eyes on the road. Many new cars now come with these systems as standard, and aftermarket head units can be retrofitted into older vehicles. Our second solution has been around seemingly forever - the manual transmission. The Kia Sportage was recently ranked as the best car for teenagers, and we partially agree because it comes with Android Auto and Apple Car Play. However, in our top five cars for teens feature, we recommended several cars that come with the option of a manual. It is extremely difficult to text and drive when one hand is busy shifting gears. So if you don't want your teen to text and drive, buy them a car with a manual transmission. Ford Ford Mazda

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Kia Sportage Jared Rosenholtz Editor-at-Large After graduating with an MBA, Jared pursued his love of cars by becoming an automotive journalist. An internship with CarBuzz grew into his current position as Editor At Large. Jared now spends most of his time evaluating new vehicles and chasing the latest news stories in the automotive industry. When he’s not attending Cars & Coffee events on the weekend, Jared loves to watch NFL football and cruise around with the top down in his German convertible. Contact Jared @Carsnbites @jar_rosenholtz LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top