Parents, if you want to set a good example for your teens while you’re teaching them how to drive, put down your cell phone. A new study out says that parents are prone to check their phones while teaching driving skills.
This study, which was conducted by State Farm, surveyed 517 teens and their parents to find out how teens learn to drive. The study found that 61 percent of teens say their parents have been distracted by their phone at least once while teaching them to drive. It goes on to say that 29 percent of teens say their parents have been distracted sometimes, often, or all the time while giving the driving lesson.
When talking to the parents, 53 percent of them admit to being distracted at least once while teaching their teens how to drive. And disagreeing with what their teens said,only 17 percent of parents say that they are distracted sometimes, often, or all the time.
When it’s the parent’s turn to drive, 54 percent of teens say they have seen parents talk while driving either sometimes, often, or all the time, while 43 percent of parents admit to doing it with their teens present.
Other interesting numbers to come out of this study include that 24 percent of parents and 30 percent of teens say they aren’t spending enough time learning how to drive. Teens need about 100 hours of driving practice before taking the car out on their own, and parents need to practice what they preach – which means paying complete attention to what their teen driver is doing behind the wheel.
[Source: Consumer Reports]
