We've been hearing a lot more recently about the dangers of texting and driving and how the practice has led to countless car accidents. But no age group appears to be more prone to both causing and suffering injuries and death from this mode of distracted driving than teenagers. According to a U.S. government website devoted to the perils of distracted driving, drivers are23 times more likely to crash if they're texting. In 2009, 16 percent of teen drivers involved in a fatal crash were reported to have been distracted.

The family of a teenage girl who died in a car accident while she was texting has been touring the country, her mangled vehicle in tow. They've been speaking at schools nationwide, including one in Cincinnati, warning of the dangers of texting and driving. They say that parking her truck outside schools for everyone to see sends a clear and jarring message to students who don't think a serious accident could happen to them. They're also asking students to sign a pledge to stay focused behind the wheel. While students aren't required to participate, most of them do.

Kentucky and Indiana have passed texting-while-driving bans, but Ohio's laws are limited to certain counties and cities, including Cincinnati. But law enforcement officials admit that the laws can be hard to enforce. Many offenders -- and no, they aren't just teenagers -- believe they're immune to it all: causing an accident, being injured in one, or being prosecuted for one. But the "I'm a good driver" defense tends not to hold up in court, and no driver can control the actions of other cars to prevent themselves from being injured.

So much can happen in the 4.6 seconds a driver takes his or her eyes off the road to send or receive a text. Perhaps more teens and other texters would benefit from seeing the shattered evidence of a driver who thought it couldn't happen to her.

Source: Cincinnati.com, "Parents warn of texting dangers," William Croyle, Jan. 23, 2012