What do you think of when you hear bad driving? Reckless teen drivers texting while driving and going over the speed limit? Forget teenagers, adults are the biggest texting-while-driving problem in the United States.

According to a survey done by AT&T, 49% of all adults admit to texting while driving compared to 43% of teenagers. What is even more scary is that 98% of those adults admit they know it is wrong. Six in ten say they were not doing it three years ago. Texting while driving is not just a teen problem. Yes, teens text, but you looking at around 10 million teen drivers, but about 180 million other adult drivers. That means that about 90 million adults and about 4 million teens admit to texting, and that’s only people that admit to it.

To accompany the statistics of this problem, the Student Resource Officer (SRO)at Fossil Ridge High School, Eric Weis, has his opinions of the issue. When asked how he would describe teenage drivers, he said “Cautious, distracted, and still learning.” The main cause for teen car accidents is driver inexperience. Driving experience only comes with time. In the first years of driving, teens are still relatively new to driving and not as skilled at driving in a variety of weather conditions or at night than more experienced drivers. When asked between teens and adults, who does he think are better drivers, Officer Weis said “Adults, from driving experience and having more exposure to different situations and how to handle that.” Driving requires practice. It can take years before new drivers feels completely comfortable behind the wheel. When asked what his experience is with teens texting and driving, Weis said, “Some experience with teens not always texting but phone usage. Checking snapchat and social media. Having a device in their hand is more common.” All age groups fall victim to distracted driving.  Combined with the relative inexperience of new drivers, distracted driving raises the risk of teen car accidents. When asked what his experience with adults texting and driving, Weis said, “Adults are more likely to text and drive and especially at stoplights I see a lot of adults looking at their phone.”

Punishment for texting and driving can be pretty severe if you are caught. When asked what the penalty is for a teen, Weis said “There is a specific law, person under the age of 18 operating a vehicle, range of fines are 100-300 dollar fine plus court cost and 1-4 points off your licence.” The same question was asked, except for adults. Officer Weis said, “18 and over goes as high as $300 and 4 points. It’s higher for adults than teens.” There is a lot of stipulation that the police treats teens differently than adults, Weis responded and said “I don’t think so, I think when we stop someone it is with a traffic violation or an accident. Most of the time we are looking for driving behavior and teens are pushing those boundaries and that’s when we see careless and reckless driving. You don’t always see that with adults.” Police officers can actually be a great person to go to with advice. When asked do you have any advice for inexperienced drivers, Weis answered, “Use caution, use tools that you were taught whether through parents or through driving school, be aware of your surroundings and of other drivers. The parking lot here, we have more miners here not driving carefully, that just comes with experience and learning.” Faster reaction times comes from practice and experience.  Faster reaction times and smarter reactions help when drivers face split second hazards. When asked what the worst habit for adult drivers is, Weis answered “Being distracted and road rage.” The same question was asked except for teens and Officer Weis answered “Distracted driving and driver inexperience and not knowing what to do in a situation and guessing.”

Overall, there are a lot of bad drivers on the road; it doesn’t matter if they are adults or teens. Our society is so advanced, we can make cars that drive themselves, and big medical discoveries, but we can’t find a way to solve texting and driving. Texting and driving is something that is a huge problem in the U.S. right now, and needs to be solved.