Indiana Teens and Distracted Driving

July 01, 2012

This is an exciting time of year if you are a teenager. Summer means the end of the school year and the start of new jobs, more extra-curricular activities, and more time with friends. Many teens will be driving themselves to part-time jobs and other activities throughout the summer. While this may provide teens with a sense of freedom, it also puts them at risk for car accidents, particularly those stemming from distracted driving.

Distracted driving includes texting while driving as well as any other activities that take a driver's attention off the task of driving. These include things like eating, putting on makeup, talking on a cellphone or adjusting the radio or GPS. All drivers should avoid distractions, but teens are particularly at risk for distracted driving accidents because of their inexperience behind the wheel.

Indiana Distracted Driving Laws

Like 38 other states, Indiana has bans on certain forms of distracted driving. Indiana prohibits all cellphone use while driving, whether handheld or hands-free, for drivers under the age of 18. Texting while driving is banned for all Indiana drivers.

Unfortunately, such laws don't deter many teens from texting while behind the wheel. According to a survey by AT&T of 1,200 teens, 43 percent admit to engaging in the behavior themselves while 75 percent claim their friends text while driving.

A spokesperson from AT&T shed some light on the reason why: "The fact [is] that most teens expect to receive a response [to their texts] within five minutes.... That is one of the reasons why they really feel like they need to be texting all of the time."

There also seems to be very little enforcement of distracted driving laws in Indiana. The texting and driving law went into effect in July of 2011, but since then only five tickets have been issued in Indianapolis and only 125 tickets statewide. Police say this is because it is difficult to determine if someone is illegally texting or legally using their phone to access the GPS feature or enter a phone number.

Steps Parents May Take

For parents concerned about teens using their cellphones while driving, there are a number of solutions available. For a small monthly fee, T-Mobile's DriveSmart Plus app uses GPS technology to detect when the car is in motion and holds all texts and sends calls to voicemail. AT&T also has a free app called DriveMode which automatically responds to incoming texts stating the user is driving. These are just two of the many apps and other technologies available designed to curb distracted driving.

Parents, however, don't have to rely on technology to prevent their teen from driving distracted. Simply discussing the issue and the potential deadly consequences with their children may be equally effective. Parents should also make a point to set a good example themselves, and never drive distracted.

Article provided by Doehrman Chamberlain
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