Maurer's story is an example of how distracted driving is not just an issue with teenage drivers. Though many of us might think teens are the ones who can't resist checking Snapchat, Instagram and other social networks, or texting, taking videos or playing video games while behind the wheel, parents have a hard time steering clear of their devices while driving, too.
In a poll conducted for Common Sense Media, 56% of parents admitted checking their phones while driving.
"We're finding estimates of about half of all parents say that they drive distracted," said Despina Stavrinos, director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's distracted driving research lab. "So that's not really helping for where we're trying to get in terms of shifting the societal norms. If Mom and Dad are doing it, then hey, it must be OK."
Fifty-one percent of teens said they see their parents checking and/or using their mobile devices while driving, according to the Common Sense Media poll.
"My mom is a big Facebooker," said one high school student in Long Island, New York. "So every single second, she's always on her phone texting and I will always tell her, 'Mom, your kids are in the car. Like it's one thing if it's just you, but my little sister is with us. Can you just stop for maybe a couple minutes?' "
'Grand slam of bad parenting'
It's the "old do as I say, not as I do" adage, said Deborah Hersman, president and chief executive officer of the National Safety Council. She says 95% of parents who say they drive distracted admit doing it in front of their teens. "That's just like the grand slam of bad parenting, because you are modeling the wrong behavior, and then you're telling the kids not to do something that they've watched you do potentially for years."
David Greenfield, founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, said that when he talks to children and adolescents about the factors that caused them to overuse their technology, they often talk about their parents' use of technology.