All In the Family

A recent study of drivers ages 16 to 18 and their parents confirmed the adage that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, at least when it comes to risky behavior behind the wheel. Jointly conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Toyota Motor Sales in Torrence, Calif., the study found that parents who engage in distracting driving behavior have teens that likewise engage in similar behavior. For example, 54 percent of teens say they use a hand-held cell phone while driving, compared to 60 percent of parents who report that they do so. What’s more, 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit they conduct text-message conversations while driving. “Children look to their parents for a model of what is acceptable,” Dr. Ray Bingham says, a research professor at the UMTRI. “Parents should know that every time they get behind the wheel with their child in the car, they are providing a visible example that their child is likely to follow.”