Text messaging is growing into a serious hazard for young people, ABC reports. A new study showed that teens are texting at rates that border on addiction—some sending thousands of messages a month. Most alarmingly, however, a full 28% of teens admitted to texting while driving, a dangerous practice that distracts inexperienced motorists.
Five 17- and 18-year-old girls were killed in a crash in upstate New York last month that police say may have been caused by texting from behind the wheel. Lawmakers are starting to take action: Washington State has passed the first law banning texting from the road and New Jersey is expected to follow. (More teenager stories.)