Barb Dunn was doing everything right. She talked to her then 16-year-old son Daniel repeatedly about the dangers of texting and driving and she rode with him as he drove to and from school while he had his learner’s permit.
But when I asked Daniel if he would ever text and drive, his answer stunned his parents — and me.
“Probably,” he said, although he added he didn’t think he would text while “driving on the highway.”
When his shocked mother pressed him about whether he would text while the car was moving, he said, “No, probably not.”
But he did say it would likely take a “pretty good scare” to convince him never to do it.
Steering teens out of harm’s way
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“We’re creating this culture where we disconnect from our phones even when we are transporting children around, and I think that’s really where it happens. It trickles down from the top,” said Graber, who appeared on the radio show with Liz Marks.
Graber, who also teaches “cybercivics” to middle school students in Aliso Viejo, California, admits she’s personally been guilty of getting distracted by a text or tweet.
“You hear that sound and you feel like you have to respond to it immediately,” she said.
“We have to remember that every time we do that, there’s a child watching. Maybe it’s a child that’s not even watching yet but they’re going to remember that that’s a behavior that we have condoned.”
What do you think parents can do to keep their children safe behind the wheel? Share your thoughts with Kelly Wallace on Twitter or CNN Living on Facebook.
