Teens are some of the most at-risk drivers, and they are also the most likely to text behind the wheel. While peer pressure plays a crucial role in teens’ social circles, a new federal safety study finds that teenagers can’t be expected to shame their friends into putting down the phone or other gadgets -- even when they themselves are in the car with a distracted driver.

Nearly 90 percent of the 6,000 drivers polled in a telephone survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that distracted driving is very unsafe. But only about one-third of the respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 said they would call out a driver who was talking on a phone. Half of the respondents age 65 and up, by comparison, would say something to a distracted driver.

Of course, that’s not the effect NHTSA and other federal safety agencies are hoping their public awareness campaigns will have on stopping distracted driving. The Department of Transportation has further proposed guidelines for automaker’s in-dash gadgets to reduce distracted driving.

Short of a blanket ban on cell phones in cars proposed by the National Transportation Safety Board, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood is hoping that making distracted driving more of a social stigma will play a greater role. "Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roadways," LaHood said in a recent DOT statement released along with the survey’s findings. "We're encouraging young people across America to commit to distraction-free driving, spread the word to their family and friends and speak up if the driver in their car is distracted."

As a new weapon in its war against distracted driving, the DOT is using social media as a way to reach teens and is challenging them to develop an online icon to help raise awareness of the issue on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

[Source: Consumer Reports]