Texting While Driving Could Land You In Jail

We've all been guilty of it at one time or another, but one Massachusetts teen is serving a year in prison after getting into a fatal car accident when he was texting while driving. Aaron Deveau was sentenced to a year in prison for his part of in a car accident that took another man's life. Deveau testified that his phone was on the passenger side seat when the crash took place. He told police he was distracted and thinking about his homework when the car in front of him slammed on its brakes, and Deveau swerved to avoid it. When prosecutors looked up Deveau's phone records, they showed that on the day of the crash Deveau was sending text messages right up until the approximate time the crash took place, and sent dozens more after. The judge believed his texting contributed to the cause of the crash. 

RELATED: WHO Verdict: Cell Phones 'Possibly' Cause Cancer

A recent survey showed that almost 60 per cent of high school seniors have admitted to texting while driving. About 15,000 teenagers were questioned for the survey that also showed drunk driving is on the decline with teenagers. "A lot of teens say 'Well, if the car's not moving and I'm at a stoplight or I'm stuck in traffic, that's OK,'" said Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center. Back in our wayward years, we were almost in an accident just like Deveau's. We were distracted and texting a friend when the car ahead of us stopped to let a pedestrian cross the road, and we were able to hit the brakes just before slamming into the back of the car ahead of us. We never did it again.