Worried about your teenage son or daughter texting or calling friends via cellphone while driving?  It seems that many adult drivers should consider setting a better example.

The Pemco Insurance Company recently conducted a poll of northwest drivers.  Sadly, those results showed that nearly half of drivers polled admitted to illegally using their phones for calls and texts while at the wheel of their automobiles.  Why the admission?  A majority of those do it because they don’t think it’s too dangerous.

Other studies refute that confidence.  A variety of research projects have likened reaction time while talking on a cell phone (both hand-held and hands-free) to that of a driver at the legal toxicity level of .08 percent blood alcohol level.  And it doesn’t require a study to determine that reading or answering a text removes drivers’ eyes from the road for many seconds at a time.  In fact, there have been studies revealing that the average “attention robbing” time for a driver involved in texting comes in repeated one to four second intervals.

Taking one’s eyes off of the road for those increments while driving, especially at highway speeds, allows for lots of distance travelled while “blind.”  Obviously, bad things can happen when emergencies arise during those moments.

Of the adult scofflaws, nearly two-thirds are parents with kids in their homes under 18 years of age.  Using their phones illegally not only exposes those parents to the woes of distraction, but offers questionable example-setting for their children.

Research shows that a majority of teens feel the need to respond immediately to texts, social media and other electronic device notifications.  Unfortunately, that attitude commonly also applies when they are driving, endangering themselves and others whenever it happens.

Summer months are certainly apropos for getting teens to drop the habit.  Beginning Memorial Day, the following 100 days are statistically the deadliest for teens (ages 16-19) involved in vehicle collisions.  There are many causal factors, such as driving with friends in their cars and combining drinking with driving, but distraction and inattentiveness during bouts of cell phone use top the list.

Engaging in conversation with your children about the very real dangers of mixing driving with talking and texting is a worthy interventional step in dissuading the behavior.  Discuss the big picture with them, pointing out that avoiding an accident is more important than instant responses to calls or texts.  Driving to a safe place and stopping before operating a cell phone is the desired procedure for safety, insuring that an accident won’t take place during the process.

When parents, using their phones while driving, set a bad example for easily-influenced young drivers, it sends a mixed message when telling the kids not to do it.  To have any clout, the message should be backed up by the good example of resisting combining phone and vehicle operation simultaneously.

So, the next time you feel compelled to read a text, answer a phone call, or respond to a notification while driving, simply resist the urge and wait until your vehicle is safely stopped before tending to the message.

Any State Patrol Trooper can relay real-world stories of the fatal crashes caused by phone distraction.  Don’t set dangerous examples to those who look up to you — they may find out the hard way that accidents can easily happen when cognitive or physical attention is diluted by a phone.

Readers may contact Bill Love via e-mail at precisiondriving@spokesman.com.

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