Driving Drunk or on Drugs is on the Rise among Teens

A national survey has revealed that 26% of teenagers have driven while drunk or while on drugs.

The study was conducted by Guideline Inc. on behalf of Liberty Mutual and Students against Destructive Decisions by surveying 903 teens with drivers' licenses at 26 high schools nationwide.

Assuring confidence to the teenagers the surveyors gave about 160-questions during homeroom or study hall to the teens.

The study revealed that boys more readily admitted that they've driven under the influence when compared to girls. However, teens whose parents punished them for breaking the law while driving were less likely to report unsafe driving behaviors.

Teens also reported less safe driving when with friends than when they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. The survey results include:

Text messaging posed itself as the biggest driving distraction for teens, with 42% of them reporting that they talk on the cell phone when driving alone.

* Half of teens say they speed more than 5 miles per hour over the speed limit when driving alone.

* 84% of teens also report fiddling with the radio when driving alone.

* Most Teens considered their parents to be the safest drivers, but state that their driving was more influenced by their friends than their parents.

In addition teens generally showed a lack of interest in attending advanced driving school, unless it saves them money on car insurance.

Guideline says the survey has a margin of error of 3.3%.

Source-Medindia
NLA