Forest Park Raises Awareness of Texting while Driving

Texting while driving remains one of the most serious driving distractions out there.

It is the cause of 16 percent of teen auto fatalities; some experts say texting while driving is even more dangerous than druken driving.

Now Forest Park is asking residents to pledge on Sept. 19 to "Drive Now, Text Later" as part of a statewide campaign to curb the behavior.

Commissioners approved a proclamation at Monday's meeting.

"Forty-three percent American teenage drivers admitt to texting while driving
even though 97 percent of them know it is dangerous," Mayor Anthony Calderone said.

Information about the pledge will be posted on the community's website. Material will be sent on to Proviso East in Maywood, Proviso Math and Science Academy in Forest Park and Proviso West in Hillside, Calderone said.

"We need to educate them to the dangers," he said.

The practice has become a nationwide epidemic, according to experts.

A federal study bore that out. According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, about 58 percent of high school seniors surveyed said they texted or e-mailed while driving during the previous month. About 43 percent of high school juniors acknowledged they did the same thing.

A study by Car and Driver Magazine found that it was more dangerous to text while driving then driving drunk.

Nearly 40 states, including Illinois have banned it. Forest Park police did not know exactly how many tickets they'd written, but the fines range from $75 to $750, depending on the judge who hears the case.