Teen Drivers Often Ignore Bans on Using Cellphones and Texting

Teen Drivers Often Ignore Bans on Using Cellphones and Texting. Yes, that’s the headline. No great surprise. Apparently mobile phone use by teenage drivers rose in North Carolina after the state banned drivers aged under 18 from using their mobiles behind the wheel, according to research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of North Carolina. However, the drivers themselves said they supported the restrictions, which forbid hand-held and hands-free phone use. Before the ban at the end of 2006, 11% of young drivers were seen to be using their mobiles as they drove away from school or college – but this rose to 12% five months later. In neighbouring South Carolina, where there’s no similar ban, mobile phone use remained at around 13%. [Source: Insurance Journal; University of North Carolina]