Students to pledge not to text and drive

DENVER - Teens from one Denver high school are pledging not to text behind the wheel, a day before a new law takes effect making the practice illegal.

The students at Montbello High School will be adding their thumbprints to a pledge banner during an event at the school on Monday hosted by the Allstate Foundation. The banner will eventually circulate to more than 30 cities across the country, as part of the "X the Text" campaign, a nationwide effort to educate teens about the dangers of texting and driving.

The non profit, which is founded and funded by the insurance company, recently found 82 percent of teens admit to texting while driving and at least 49 percent of them are extremely distracted by the practice.

On Tuesday a new Colorado law takes affect, banning all drivers from texting. It also prohibits drivers under 18 from talking on their cell phones. Some critics have questioned whether the law was needed, since drivers who are careless or reckless because of distractions, texting or otherwise, can already be cited.

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle calls the new law making it a crime to text while driving a "feel-good" law that will be difficult to enforce. Pelle says it will be tough for officers to tell the age of drivers and whether they're dialing a phone number instead of texting. He says deputies will enforce the law if they catch someone clearly distracted by a cell phone, but otherwise will continue to look for bad driving.

Mark Stolberg, the owner of the driving school Masterdrive of Denver West, defended the law. He says he warns students against any distracted driving, but believes texting is even more dangerous.

"Texting is worse [than most distractions] because it bring your eyes away from the road," Stolberg said.

On 9NEWS 6 a.m., he guided 9NEWS Reporter Brooke Thacker through a driving course, showing her the affect texting can have on driving.

"It distracts your brain into that conversation you're having while driving," Stolberg said.

He says drivers rely on their subconscious reaction to make split-second decisions often needed to avoid accidents, something that is not possible when someone has diverted their attention to a text conversation.

"The text throws [your brain] back into the conscious processing and you simply can't make that maneuver," Stolberg said.

Allstate offers a texting and driving pledge on its Web site. The company encourages students and their parents to sign the agreement. CLICK HERE for more information.