Driven to distraction: Correlations between teen texting while driving and risky behaviors

Seemingly ubiquitous cellphone use challenges the ability of teenage motorists to focus on driving and has created a significant public health challenge affecting everyone on the nation’s roadways. The dangers of texting and emailing while driving has prompted nearly every state to prohibit the practice by inexperienced motorists; yet, more than half of high school students responding to a national survey who reported having driven during the past 30 days also acknowledged texting or emailing while driving. This study will examine data collected from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System in 2011 and 2013 to describe the types of adolescent risky behavior associated with texting while driving. It also will analyze how these behaviors have changed during this period. Logistic regression will be used to assess the relationship between texting while driving and other risky adolescent behaviors, including drug use, sexual activity and violent acts. This study expands upon research that has identified an association between texting while driving and driving-related risky behaviors by examining the relationship between non-driving risky activities and driving while texting. The results of this study will add to the limited research in this area and provide a broader understanding of adolescent risk-taking that can be used to guide new evidence-based policies and initiatives aimed at subgroups of the population who are at risk for texting while driving in our communities.