Teens Get Hands On Lesson On Distraction Behind The Wheel

DENVER (CBS4)- It is illegal to text and drive in Colorado, but many drivers continue to break the law. Now, there's a push to make sure young drivers don't start the risky habit.

Teens took the wheel in a controlled environment. One hand on the wheel, the other on the cell phone.

Drivers did their best while talking and texting in an obstacle course set up to mimic real road hazards on the parking lot of Sports Authority Field.

"There are so many people on the road. You're putting yourself in danger when you're distracted with your cell phone, your iPod," said Allstate Insurance spokesman K.D. Sakraida.

The goal of the Allstate Safe Driving Challenge was to raise awareness about passenger safety. Sakraida said the conversation with young drivers needs to start at home.

"No cell phones in the car while they're driving. They need to pull over to change the iPod, all that good stuff," said Sakraida.

"I kind of thought it was going to be hard, but not that hard," said teenager driver Anthony San Filippo.

"With him doing the texting and the driving and the phone, I don't want him to do it at all. He couldn't concentrate. It was definitely interesting," said Anthony's mother Nicole San Filippo.

Allstate said driver distractions contribute to 25 percent of all reported accidents. Eighty percent of those crashes happen within three seconds of the driver being distracted.