It’s not only teens who text while driving but parents engage in distracted driving in front of their children.
A new survey from Liberty Mutal Insurance and SADD shows that parents drive without a seat belt, text, and driving after consuming alcohol, the same practices parents tell their kids to not do.
Almost half (41 percent) of teens say their parents continue unsafe habits even after their teens ask them to stop.
- 83 %of teens say their parents engage in unsafe driving behaviors with them in the car, more than their parents like to admit.
- 58% of teens say they have witnessed their parents texting and driving, and 41 percent have observed their parents driving without a seat belt.
- Of the teens surveyed, 60 percent report they have asked their parents to put an end to dangerous driving habits, with texting and driving being the most common concern among teens (42 percent).
Parents say that their teens are asking them to stop
- 40% asked them to stop driving without a seat belt.
- 33% asked them to stop texting and driving.
- 26% asked them to stop speeding.
- 23% asked them to stop posting social media updates while driving.
Research shows that teens often replicate their parents’ poor driving behaviors, so it’s very important for the safety of everyone on the road that parents be a model for responsible driving whenever they are behind the wheel.
According to the survey, parents actually admitted to:
- Talking on cell phone while driving: 86%
- Speeding: 80 %
- Texting and driving: 40 percent
- Driving after consuming alcohol: 34 percent
- Driving without a seat belt: 21 percent
According to the survey data, parents may not be taking these requests to heart. While the majority (84 %) of parents say they change their driving behaviors when asked, nearly half (41% of teens report that parents do not change their driving habits when requested to do so by their teens.
28% of teens report that their parents justify why they should continue to engage in unsafe behaviors behind the wheel, while 12 percent report that their parents ignore them completely.
“Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD encourage parents and teens alike to have frequent and open conversations about responsible driving, and to consider signing the Parent/Teen Driving Contract.