VIDEO: Do You Know This is More Dangerous than Drinking and Driving?

It used to be that when it came to having a 16-or 17-year-old, a parent’s top concern when their teen got behind the wheel was drinking and driving. Well, there’s something that’s replaced drunk driving as the number one cause of teenage deaths on the road in the U.S. – texting while driving. Accidents caused by this dangerous practice injure more than 300,000 teens and kill more than 3,000 each year, according to a study by the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York.

Teenagers aren’t the only ones picking up the bad habit.

An AT&T survey found that 49 percent of commuters admitted to texting while behind the wheel – a higher rate than reported by teenagers.

I understand the temptation. It’s easy to think you’ll look down for just one second and all will be OK. Life is fast-paced, and multi-tasking now comes naturally to most of us. However, it also comes at a price, as AT&T’s “Don’t Text While Driving” documentary shows. The piece is less than nine minutes long, but it packs quite a punch. It features families affected by texting while driving.

When you have a moment, I’d encourage you to watch this piece, and share it with your loved ones. This documentary serves as a good reminder that, whatever that text message might say, reading it can wait.