More Than a Quarter of Houston Teens Read Texts, Emails While Driving

A study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and Toyota revealed 27 percent of Houston teenagers read a text or an email every single time they drive. Twenty-four percent admit they send texts, 22 percent say they keep texting back and forth for an extended conversation, and 12 percent say they Tweet and check Facebook while driving. More than two-thirds of teens (67 percent) say they use their cell phones behind the wheel — a behavior they may have learned from their parents, as the study also revealed 83 percent of parents admit to using a cell phone while driving.

This study is alarming, especially when combined with other studies that prove texting and driving is dangerous and kills. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports distracted driving kills more than 9 people and injures more than 1,060 Americans every day. The Texas Department of Transportation found distracted driving caused more than 81,000 collisions and claimed more than 360 Texans' lives last year. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute discovered that when drivers text, they are 23 times more likely to crash, and car crashes remain the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.

Twenty four Texas cities currently ban texting while driving. Houston is not one of them.