Liberty Mutual Insurance partnered with Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and surveyed 1,700 teens about their parents' driving habits. Teens reported dangerous and distracted driving behaviors such as texting or talking on the phone, speeding, driving without a seatbelt and even driving under the influence of alcohol.

This information is worrisome because teens have reported in past Liberty Mutual surveys that their parents are their primary driving influences. Statistics confirm fears that the bad behaviors are transferred from parent to teen. For example, 91 percent of parents were observed talking on a cell phone while driving compared with 90 percent of teens reporting that they do the same.

About 88 percent of parents speed, 59 percent text, almost half have driven without seatbelts and 20 percent have driven under the influence of alcohol. An interesting irony can be observed here: Parents expect their teens to follow certain rules even though they don't, effectively undermining their own rules. Liberty Mutual stresses how important a good parental role model can be for teens while they are forming their own driving habits.

Not all findings from the survey are discouraging. Teens can positively impact their parents' driving when they speak up and ask them to stop engaging in distracting behaviors. Although only 21 percent of teens say they would ask a parent to stop driving while under the influence of alcohol, 70 percent of them reported their parents listen and change their behavior when they do.

To help open the lines of communication between parents and teens and start discussions about safe driving habits, Liberty Mutual and SADD encourage them to sign a Parent/Teen Driving Contract.

Special Reports /

IQ: Do as They Say, Not as They Drive

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