Pediatric Journal: Half of Teens Text While Driving

Risky business for teenagers in the 21st century is closely tied to texting and emailing while driving, a new study by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Almost half of American high school students 16 years old and older admitted to texting or emailing while driving in the past 30 days, the study found. Kids who were text-drivers were also more likely to admit to other "risky behaviors," such as not wearing a seat belt, riding with a driver who had been drinking, and drinking while driving, according to the study. 

"Teenage brains are not fully developed to understand the risk of injuries or death, so they take risks thinking it s never going to happen to them, or that they can handle it," Julie Kettner, who works with the National Organizations for Youth Safety, told WAMU 88.5. 

Road deaths of teenagers are now largely the result of texting while driving, according to a separate study by the Cohen Children Medical Center in New York, WAMU reported. Each year, 3,000 teens die from related incidents while 300,000 teens are injured. 

Maryland is one of 39 states and Washington, DC, that ban texting while driving, according to Distraction.gov, the federal government's website for distracted driving.