Indiana’s Attorney General Greg Zoeller reminds Hoosiers that sending text messages while driving is dangerous for all — and illegal for young drivers — yet many motorists regardless of age ignore the law and common sense, jeopardizing themselves and others.

“Young drivers may already have a false sense of invulnerability. Couple that with the fact that today’s young drivers are from a generation that has possessed cell phones longer than they have had driver’s licenses, and you have a recipe for a multitasking disaster,” Zoeller said.

In 2009, the Indiana General Assembly passed a Graduated Drivers License law that prohibits Hoosier drivers ages 18 and younger from texting while driving.

Any motorist can be distracted no matter their driving experience; and while Indiana’s law is specific to younger drivers, adults can be just as distracted by texting.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are three forms of distracted driving: Taking one’s eyes off the road (visual), taking one’s hands off the steering wheel (manual) or taking one’s attention off driving (cognitive), all of which create a greater risk of injury or death while driving. Texting while driving involves all three.

Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving distracted or inattentive drivers and more than half a million were injured. The most frequent offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers, men and women under age 20, the research found.

Indiana’s personal-injury laws dealing with contributory negligence assign percentages of fault for causing traffic accidents.

“Texting while driving will put you immediately at fault, and so you should consider whether your auto insurance company will cover your own negligence,” Zoeller said.

Help minimize distractions while driving. A text message is insignificant compared to the potentially dire consequences of reading or responding while driving.