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CDC: Older teens often text behind the wheel

By Mike Stobbe
Published June 7, 2012 4:40pm ET
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CDC: Older teens often text behind the wheel
Dylan Young, 18, a senior at North Arlington High, stands Wednesday, June 6, 2012, near the site where he was in a fender bender caused by being distracted while texting and driving, in North Arlington, N.J. More than half of high school seniors say they text or email while driving, according to a jarring new study that offers the first federal statistics on how common the dangerous habit is in teens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers Thursday, June 7, 2012. They come from a 2011 survey of about 15,000 high school students across the country. The study found 58 percent of high school seniors said that, in the previous month, they had texted or emailed while driving. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) | Julio Cortez

ATLANTA (AP) — More than half of high school seniors admit they text or email while driving — the first federal statistics on how common the dangerous habit is in teens.

An anonymous national survey conducted last year found that 58 percent of high school seniors said they had texted or emailed while driving during the previous month. About 43 percent of high school juniors acknowledged they did the same thing.

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