You Won't Believe Who's Texting Your Teens While They're Driving

Who’s texting your teens while they’re driving? The answer to that one is simple: Look in the mirror.

Helicopter parents ― you know who you are ― apparently can’t resist texting their teenager while the kid is driving. Known to hover over their kids, these parents constantly check on their child’s well-being. But in a twist of their intentions, parents who text while their teen is driving actually put their child in greater harm’s way.

A survey by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions found that 50 percent of parents who say they enforce texting and driving rules admitted texting their teenager even though they knew he or she was driving.

As if that’s not bad enough, the survey found that 29 percent of those parents expected a response before their child reached their destination.

This was especially true if the messages came from mom. The survey found that teens tend to believe that a message coming from their mother is more important than one coming from their father or a friend.

Then, of course, there is the practice-what-you-preach argument. In the survey section where teens reported on their parents’ driving behaviors, 38 percent said their parents texted while driving either always, often or sometimes. Forty-two percent said their parents drove faster than the posted speed limit, about 20 percent said they’ve seen their parents drive without a seat belt, and 11 percent reported that their parents drove after drinking alcohol.

C’mon parents, we can do better.