COLUMBUS – Texting-while-driving bans do not work very well when it comes to discouraging teen drivers from messaging on their phones while behind the wheel, according to a new study led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Banning hand-held phone conversations are working in states where they have been put into effect, according to the study by the hospital‘s Center for Injury Research and Policy.
“Our study shows that universal bans of hand-held cellphone calls while driving can be effective in reducing teens’ hand-held conversations while driving, but texting bans are not effective in reducing texting while driving,” said Dr. Motao Zhu, the study’s lead author and the center’s principal investigator.
The study was done in conjunction with researchers from West Virginia University and the University of Minnesota and published in Journal of Adolescent Health and found that teen drivers reported 55 percent fewer hand-held phone conversations when universal hand-held calling bans were in place compared to states with no bans.
The study looked at state cellphone laws and differences in both texting and hand-held cellphone conversations among teen drivers across four years and found that universal texting bans did not fully discourage teens from texting while driving; bans limited to just young drivers were not effective in reducing either hand-held conversations or texting; and, even with laws in place, about one-third of teen drivers are still talking on the phone and texting while driving.
The study concluded that the difference may attributed to actual or perceived enforcement of these laws – in other words, whether teens though they would get caught. The teens may believe it is easier for police to enforce universal hand-held bans than texting bans but Zhu said more study is needed.
Texting while driving is a secondary offense in Ohio, but officers can pull over any driver under the age of 18 suspected of texting and driving.