• 09
  • November
    2011

Parents of teenagers who are learning to drive need to do a better job of modeling proper focus on the road. A recent survey showed that parents are too often distracted by the very devices that can put their teens at risk of texting while driving accidents.

The survey was conducted by State Farm Insurance. Remarkably, over half of parents - 53 percent - admitted to being distracted by cell phones or other electronic devices on at least one occasion while teaching their teenage children to drive.

The teenagers who were surveyed put the figure even higher. The number of teens who said their parents were distracted by cell phones or texting while teaching their teens to drive was 61 percent.

These numbers are way too high. "It's alarming," said Chris Mullen, the director of technology research for State Farm. "There's a need to remind parents that they are role models."

Given the risk of distracted driving accidents, a parent who is a proper role model should put down the phone and other electronic devices when teaching a teenager to drive. It's that simple.

Ray LaHood, the U.S. transportation secretary, is trying to get parents to realize how powerful their teaching role can be in creating good driving habits for a lifetime. When parents put the phone away while driving, LaHood says, "it's not just common sense safe behavior. It's a life-long lesson for the children in the backseat."

Even without the risk of distracted driving, it's not easy learning to drive. Parents need to do a better job of getting kids started by paying more attention themselves.

Source: "Parents distracted while teaching kids to drive," USA Today, 10-17-11