Fewer teens texting while driving

New laws against sending text messages while driving may be curbing the practice among teenagers, but more efforts are needed to teach kids about the risks, says an official with AAA.

Only 24 percent of teenagers admitted to sending text messages in the previous month while driving, according to a nationwide survey conducted recently by the automobile association and Seventeen magazine.

That's a lower figure than what previous AAA surveys have found, said Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for AAA Wisconsin. The survey of nearly 2,000 drivers ages 16 to 19 was conducted in May.

A new Wisconsin law makes it illegal to send text messages or e-mails while driving. The law takes effect Dec. 1.

"A number of states have come on line and have passed laws that prohibit texting while driving," said Mosher, who credits those laws at least in part to why fewer teens say they now engage in the habit. Media attention about the problem also may have caused the decline, she said.

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