Connection Obsession

ERIK NIVISON, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? It is illegal to send text messages while driving in some states. Legit! 11 states and the District of Columbia have banned the practice for anyone who's behind the wheel.

Connection Obsession

AZUZ: Nine other states have that same ban for beginner drivers. Federal safety organizations say crashes are the number one cause of accidental death in the U.S., and they've also found that 80 percent of those crashes are related to drivers being distracted by things like using a cell phone. Bill Tucker explores the science behind the dangers of texting while driving.

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 25 people died, 135 were injured in this crash. Investigators say the engineer of the Los Angeles commuter train was texting moments before it happened last September. In Boston last week, 49 people were injured when the driver of this trolley rear-ended a stopped trolley. The driver was texting his girlfriend. This San Antonio bus driver is texting as he drives into the rear of an SUV. There were no deaths, but the driver, 2 passengers and the driver of the SUV were injured. All of these accidents were easily preventable.

DAVID TEATER, NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL: 38,000 die every year on roadways. Virginia Tech and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have estimated about 80% of accidents and near-accidents are caused by driver inattention, and the number one driver inattention is mobile device use.

TUCKER: One trillion text messages were sent in just the United States last year. Text messaging is part of our supposedly multi-tasking way of living. Even under the best of circumstances, though, researchers at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research say our brains don't deal well with more than one thing at once. Texting behind the wheel of a couple of tons of steel moving down the road is a bad idea.

ROBERT DESIMONE, MIT, MCGOVERN INST. FOR BRAIN RESEARCH: Texting while driving would be the perfect storm of attentional problems. You are using your visual system for 2 things at once. So, this is the worse situation to be in, texting while driving.

TUCKER: 26 states this year have considered, and are still considering, laws to ban texting while driving. 11 states already have laws banning texting: Alaska, California, Washington, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia, Arkansas and the District of Columbia. Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.

Blog Promo

AZUZ: It doesn't take a genius to recognize the dangers of texting while you're behind the wheel, but the question is, why do some people still do it? That's what we're asking you to blog about today. We want to hear your thoughts on the issue. So, head to CNNStudentNews.com, click on "From A to Z," and share your ideas.