WASHINGTON — The generation getting its first driver’s license has heard about distracted driving since it played with toy cars.
But the alert of a text message or a Snapchat still has a strong pull on the eyes, away from the road to the screen of a cellphone.
“I think it’s extremely hard for them to put that down,” says Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “If anything, it’s gotten harder.”
He was among the speakers at a Teen Safe Driving Summit in Alexandria.
“I think it’s an addiction,” he says. “We’re just used to being connected all the time.”
The event, put on by the National Organizations for Youth Safety, highlighted a range of blind spots for young drivers, but distracted driving was top of mind.
“You don’t have to drive like you’re moms and dads,” says Joel Feldman, whose daughter was killed in a distracted driving accident.
When he speaks to young drivers, they tell him 70 percent to 80 percent of their parents use phones at the wheel.
Students attending the summit said the personal stories of loss forced them to rethink using their phones while driving.
“Distracted driving in general is something they don’t realize they’re doing,” says Sierra Schoenfeldt, a teenager attending the lectures. “They’re just doing it because it’s a natural habit.”
