Patrice Walsh (Rochester, N.Y.) -- Police say text messaging while driving is one of the most dangerous distractions for teens on the road.
To many adults, texting while driving seems impossible; but many teens still do it.
"A lot of kids text while driving. Absolutely. I know a lot of people who do it," said
Ashley Rocco.
"How can you text and drive?” asked Josh Wilson. “Personally I can’t coordinate enough to do it, but a lot of people do it."
However, even master texters have to look at their cell phones to send a message or read one. Police say that split second of distraction can be the most dangerous.
Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero said texting was a possible factor in the crash that killed five Fairport teens in June. A text message was received by the driver's phone just seconds before the accident.
"We will never know who was texting in the automobile,” Povero said. "What lessons can we learn from that terrible tragedy?"
Many teachers use the Fairport crash as an example of how deadly it can be.
Rush Henrietta driving instructor, Victor Beauseigneur, said, "Through this tragedy and education system we hope they wake up and know they shouldn't be doing it.”
There is also a push for a change in the law. Some believe that might deter more teens from the deadly habit.
Survey Results
13WHAM News surveyed 150 teen drivers at sporting events, in school, and in driver education classes. Here are some of the results:
• 30 percent said they use a cell phone while driving.
• 17 percent said they occasionally text while driving.
• 5 percent said texting has caused them to lose control of their car.
One teen said, “I was driving down the highway. I got distracted from texting and veered into the other lane.”
Another said, “I was driving during a storm and hydroplaned--spinning into opposing traffic.”
The teens also noted the dangerous aspect of texting and driving.
• 90 percent said texting affects reaction time.
• 79 percent say it is a distraction.
• 81 percent said texting while driving should be banned
A little more than half of those surveyed, 60 percent, said the Fairport crash did scare them into changing their texting habits.
"It made everything real…could happen to anybody," Ashley said.
"After hearing about the girls who died, it hit home," Josh added.
However, one disturbing finding was that while more than half the teens surveyed said hearing the dangers about texting while driving scared them, the other 40 percent said it didn’t faze them.
One teen said, “Just because it happens to some people doesn't mean it will happen to me.”
Another said, “If I am in a dangerous situation because of texting while driving, I would be able to control myself.”
Testing Teens
With the help of driver education instructor Alden Bell, 13WHAM set up a driving test to see how text messaging affected a teen's ability to drive.
Students from Rush-Henrietta's driver education class went through the course
The teens had no trouble negotiating the curves and cones, until they had to do it while texting.
Phil Gusmano thought he was a pretty good texter until he added driving to the equation.
He said, "What I noticed while texting was that it took away 70 percent of my focus from the road.”
Lacaria Cross found it impossible to text while driving.
"I couldn't concentrate on the road and texting. I could only do one," she said. "If the cones were people, I would've killed two people."
Erin Hassett could not focus.
"I took out a lot of cones," she said. “I probably would've gotten into an accident."
Rich Bellion was sure he could do both, but found he simply could not.
Crystal Hercules said the experience taught her a lesson.
"It was so hard, I felt like I was drunk," she said.
Parents and Teens Watch Together
The teens also watched a video of their tests with their parents.
Beleader Cross was mortified when she saw her daughter Lacaria weaving all over the road.
"When I see how they were knocking over the cones--it could have been a life!" she said.
Erin Hassett’s mom Melinda couldn't believe how often the teen’s eyes left the road.
Before the test, Phil Gusmano said, "I don't think I'll do as badly as everyone else."
After the test, Phil said, "I thought it could be done…this goes to show you!"
Claudette Harris cringed as she watched her daughter Crystal.
"The cones could've been somebody. They have no fear!" she said.
The teens and their parents laughed at first, but realized this is serious.
Claudette Harris said, "All of them went into this thinking they could do this, they all failed."
"I believe it was a wake-up call for all of us," Beleader Cross said.
Beauseigneur said the test served as a good education tool.
Police say texting while driving cannot be done safely.
See the complete survey results and take our texting test by clicking the links above.
