Warn your kids: Texting while driving now the leading cause of death for teenagers

Warn your kids: Texting while driving now the leading cause of death for teenagers

Text message—The photo shows Heit was responding to a friend by typing “Sounds good my man, seeya soon” followed by a few letters before crashing according to The Greeley Tribune. Heit died shortly after the crash according to the Associated Press.

By Your Black World

     Apparently the leading cause of accidents among teenage drivers is that they text while driving.  Many teens also openly admit to reading and sending messages while the car is in motion, according to new research.

The research, done by the Cohen Children’s Medical Center, New Hyde Park, New York, estimates that there are more than 300,000 injuries from motor vehicle accidents annually that are caused by texting while driving and the deaths caused are more than 3,000.

Researchers say that although the number of accidents caused by teenagers drinking and driving has been on the decrease, the number of teens who text or read messages while driving has grown considerably. It’s difficult to warn teens of the dangers, since many of them don’t understand the power of an automobile and often learn their lessons too late.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that an estimated 2,700 teenagers die each year from accidents that are caused by drinking and driving and 282,000 are treated in hospital emergency rooms.