State Farm® Survey Shows Fewer Teens Believe They Will Have an Accident or be Killed Texting While Driving Versus Drinking While Driving

A new State Farm ® survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, shows that despite academic research indicating the consequences of texting while driving can be as severe as drunk driving, some teens still don't see it that way.

In the survey, fewer teens view texting while driving as leading to fatal consequences as compared to drinking while driving. Of 14-17 years-olds who intend to have or already have a driver's license, the survey found that 36 percent strongly agree that if they regularly text and drive they could be killed one day. In contrast, the majority of teens (55 percent) strongly agree that drinking while driving could be fatal.

The survey also showed that teens think the chances of getting into an accident are still higher when drinking while driving versus texting while driving. In the survey, of these same teens, 63 percent strongly agree they could get into an accident if they text and drive. This compares with 78 percent who strongly agree they could get into an accident if they drink and drive. The survey was conducted in July among 697 U.S. teens 14-17 years of age.

The awareness gap becomes more pronounced among teens who admit to texting while driving versus teens who refrain from the practice. Among teens that have never texted while driving, 73 percent strongly agree they will get into an accident if they text and drive. Yet among teens that admit to texting while driving, only 52 percent strongly agree they will get into an accident as a result of the practice.

"Some teens still think the consequences of reaching for a cell phone are less severe than reaching for a beer bottle," said Laurette Stiles, vice president of Strategic Resources at State Farm. "We have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to helping teens understand that texting while driving can be every bit as dangerous as drinking while driving. It's an awareness gap that must be addressed."

Reaction Times

In the survey, aspiring and current teen drivers also think their chances of narrowly avoiding an accident are better texting while driving versus drinking while driving. With texting while driving, 55 percent of these teens agree they will have some situations when they almost get into an accident but will recover just in time. This compares to 36 percent of these teens who agree they can recover just in time in situations where they are drinking and driving.

While many teens may believe their ability to respond during a texting while driving incident is greater than with drinking while driving, research shows that texting may be as dangerous as or more so than drinking. In a 2008 study by TRL, the United Kingdom's Transport Research Laboratory, reaction time of drivers 17-24 years of age was reduced by 35 percent when typing a text message, compared with 12 percent when driving after consuming alcohol to the legal limit. A similar study was released in 2006 by the University of Utah using participants 22-34 years of age. This study found that the impairments associated with talking on a cell phone can be as profound as those associated with driving while intoxicated during those times when drivers are directly engaged in cell phone use. Researchers also pointed out that drinking creates impairment throughout the entire practice of driving. They found that texting while driving only creates impairment while the driver is directly engaged in the practice. Once reengaged in driving, drivers who text do not display the same characteristics as intoxicated drivers during routine operation of a motor vehicle.

The National Safety Council estimates that 200,000 crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting.

The Role of Parents

The survey also underscores that parental engagement on texting while driving is not fully breaking through when compared to discussions about drinking and driving.

Of teens who talk often with their parents about driving, 82 percent strongly agree that if they regularly drink and drive they will get into an accident. That number falls to 72 percent among teens who rarely or never talk to their parents about driving. A similar pattern was evident around texting while driving but in these cases teens view the consequences of texting as less severe. In the survey, 67 percent of teens who often talk to their parents about driving strongly agree that if they regularly text and drive someday they will get into an accident. This compared with 56 percent of teens who rarely or never talk to their parents about driving.

The Survey

For this State Farm survey, Harris Interactive conducted the survey within the United States on July 22-26, 2010 among 697 U.S. 14-17 year-olds, including 694 who intend to have or already have a driver's license. Figures for age, sex, geographic region, and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. The estimated margin of error is +/- 3.7 percentage points for the entire sample and is higher among subgroups.

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FBI Releases Preliminary Statistics for Law Enforcement Officers Killed in 2008

The FBI today released preliminary statistics indicating that 41 of our nation’s law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2008. By region, 20 of the victim officers were killed in the South, nine in the Midwest, nine in the West, and three in the Northeast. The number of officers feloniously killed was 17 fewer than in 2007.

Of these felonious deaths, 10 occurred during arrest situations, eight officers were killed during traffic pursuits/stops, seven during tactical situations, six while investigating suspicious persons/circumstances, six were as a result of ambush situations, two officers were performing investigative activities, one was responding to a disturbance call, and one was handling, transporting, or had custody of a prisoner.

Firearms were the weapons most often used in these slayings. Of the 35 officers killed with firearms, 25 were killed with handguns, five with rifles, four with shotguns, and one officer was murdered with an unknown type of firearm. Four officers were killed by vehicles, and two officers died from injuries as a result of a bomb.

At the time of their deaths, 30 of the law enforcement officers were wearing body armor. Ten officers fired their weapons, and four of the officers attempted to fire their weapons. Six officers had their weapon stolen, and four officers were killed with their own weapons.

The 41 law enforcement officers were killed in 38 separate incidents. All 38 incidents have been cleared by arrest or exceptional means.

The number of officers killed in accidents also dropped from the previous year as 67 officers were accidentally killed in 67 separate incidents while performing their duties in 2008. This represents 16 fewer officers killed in accidents than in 2007.

The FBI will release final statistics in the Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s annual report, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, which will be published on the Internet in the fall of this year.

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Number of Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the United States Falls Sharply in 2008

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 2008 is ending as one of the safest years for U.S. law enforcement in decades. The number of officers killed in the line of duty fell sharply this year when compared with 2007, and officers killed by gunfire reached a 50-year low.

Based on their analysis of preliminary data, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) and Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) found that 140 officers have died in the line of duty so far this year, a 23 percent reduction from the 2007 figure of 181. Other than 1996, when 139 officers were killed, 2008 represents the lowest year for officer fatalities since 1965, when 136 officers died in the line of duty.

This year's reduction includes a steep, 40 percent drop in the number of officers who were shot and killed, from 68 in 2007 to 41 in 2008. The last time firearms-related fatalities were this low was 1956, when there were 35 such deaths. The 2008 figure is 74 percent lower than the total for 1973, when a near-record high 156 law enforcement officers were shot and killed.

"2007 was a wake-up call for law enforcement in our country, and law enforcement executives, officers, associations and trainers clearly heeded the call, with a renewed emphasis on officer safety training, equipment and procedures," said NLEOMF Chairman and CEO Craig W. Floyd. "The reduction in firearms-related deaths is especially stunning, given the tremendous firepower possessed by so many criminals today. The fact that law enforcement has been able to drive down the crime rate, and do so with increased efficiency and safety, is a testament to the hard work and professionalism of our officers," Mr. Floyd added.

"Concerns of Police Survivors is pleased to see the reduction in officer deaths for 2008 and hopes this is a trend we will see year after year. But we also know that for each of the surviving families and co-workers, their one officer is one too many," said C.O.P.S. National President Jennifer Thacker. "These families, co-workers and agencies are struggling to cope with life without their officer and will need support from C.O.P.S. before, during and long after National Police Week. C.O.P.S. will continue its efforts to provide life rebuilding support and resources for 2008 surviving families and affected co-workers, as well as past year survivors to help them rebuild their shattered lives. We will embrace these families and affected co-workers and assure them there is no fee to join C.O.P.S., for the price paid is already too high," she said.

In 2008, for the 11th year in a row, more law enforcement officers, 71, died in traffic-related incidents than from gunfire or any other single cause of death. Mirroring the nationwide drop in traffic fatalities among the general public this year, the number of officers killed in traffic incidents was down 14 percent from 2007. Last year, a record high 83 officers died on our roadways. Of this year's traffic-related fatalities, 44 officers died in automobile crashes, 10 died in motorcycles crashes and 17 were struck and killed by other vehicles.

Among other causes of death, 17 officers succumbed to job-related physical illnesses, three died in aircraft accidents, two were fatally stabbed, two died in bomb-related incidents, and one each was beaten to death, drowned, accidentally electrocuted and died in a train accident.

Fifteen of the officers killed this year were women, equaling the all-time high set in 2002. 2008 marked the first time that more than 10 percent of the officers who died in a year were female. Among all officers killed in 2008, the average age was 40 and the officers had served an average of 12 years in law enforcement.

Texas, for the second year in a row, experienced the most law enforcement officer fatalities, although the state's 2008 total of 14 was down from 22 in 2007. California had 12 officer fatalities, followed by Florida and Pennsylvania, with eight each. Four of the eight Pennsylvania officers to die this year were members of the Philadelphia Police Department, which experienced the most deaths of any agency. Thirty-five states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands lost officers in 2008. Eight officers serving with federal law enforcement agencies also died this year, down from 17 in 2007.

Mr. Floyd cited a number of reasons for the sharp decline in officer fatalities this year: 1) better training and equipment, plus a realization among officers that "every assignment is potentially life-threatening, no matter how routine or benign it might seem;" 2) increased use of less-lethal weaponry, including TASER stun guns, which allow officers to apprehend resisting violent offenders with less chance of assault or injury; 3) more officers wearing bullet-resistant vests--over the past 20 years, vests have saved more than 3,000 law enforcement lives; 4) a downturn in violent crime--the Department of Justice reported that violent crime is at its lowest level since 1973; and 5) a tougher criminal justice system, with a record 2.3 million offenders in correctional facilities nationwide.

The statistics released by the NLEOMF and C.O.P.S. are preliminary and do not represent a final or complete list of individual officers who will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2009. The report, "Law Enforcement Officer Deaths, Preliminary 2008 Report," is available at www.nleomf.org. For information on the programs that Concerns of Police Survivors offers to the surviving families of America's fallen law enforcement officers, visit www.nationalcops.org.

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