Americans live far more dangerously than our European counterparts when it comes to texting and driving, with more than two-thirds of us admitting to texting while at the wheel, federal government researchers reported on Thursday.

A survey of drivers across the United States and Europe shows big differences in the numbers who admit they get distracted at the phone, but the U.S. scored by far the worst.

Just short of 69 percent of Americans aged 18 to 64 admitted to talking on a cell phone while driving at least once in the past 30 days. This compared to 21 percent of British drivers, who were the least likely to text and drive, and 40 percent of adults in France. And 31 percent of U.S. drivers admitted they had texted at the wheel, compared to 15 percent in Spain.

What puzzles the researchers is why the numbers are so different across the seven European countries in the survey: Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

“While U.S. states differ in their cell phone use laws, nearly all European countries have hand-held bans in place, yet there is still a large variation in European estimates,” wrote Rebecca Naumann and Ann Dellinger of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Virtually all experts agree that talking on a cellphone or using one to write texts or emails is enormously distracting. Even hands-free use can be a major distraction and health experts say people shouldn’t use phones at all while driving.

A team at the University of North Texas Health Science Center reported in 2010 that drivers distracted by cell phones killed an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007, based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Various U.S. states have tried making it a crime to use a handset while driving, communication campaigns, devices that discourage cellphone use in a moving vehicle and education. The CDC says 33 states and the District of Columbia have laws restricting at least some teens or new drivers from using cell phones while driving.

The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended a blanket ban on the use of cellphones in cars and also encourages the development of technology that would disable cellphone function within reach of a driver in a moving vehicle.

“The cell phone can be a fatal distraction for those who use it while they drive,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement.  “Driving and dialing or texting don’t mix. If you are driving, pull over to a safe place and stop before you use your cell phone.”

Linda Degutis, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, says parents should model safe driving behavior. “It’s especially risky for young, inexperienced  drivers -- who are already extremely vulnerable to crashes -- to be distracted when they are behind the wheel. Answering a call or reading a text is never worth a loss of life,” she said.

The CDC team used data from 5,000 people surveyed by marketing and public relations firm Porter Novelli for the study.

Related links:

• California legalizes hands-free texting while driving
• Texting while driving like Russian roulette
• Why cellphone using drivers won't quit
• Texting pedestrians asking for trouble

Aping Vision / Getty Images stock

Researchers found 30 percent of pedestrians corssed the street while distracted. Many were texting.

They're a lot like Pavlov’s dogs, those people who hear the ping of a landing text message or email and immediately whip out their smartphone to respond.

Now researchers in Seattle have found 30 percent of those plugged-in pedestrians were crossing the street while peering at cellphone screens, listening to music, or otherwise not paying attention.

“I was surprised it was as prevalent as it is,” said Beth Ebel, who’s seen the consequences first-hand as director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle and as a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“I have seen a large increase in cases, anecdotally, both as a consequence of driving, walking and even while on horseback of people engaging in text messaging while in a task that requires concentration,” Ebel said. “The problem with text messaging is you are drawn into the communication, and so you are not thinking about what is around you. You do not have situational awareness.”

Ebel has also seen it herself while driving. “Sometimes I am stopped at a light and somebody walks in front of me, doesn’t catch my eye, doesn’t look at me,” she said.

Unfortunately, multi-tasking pedestrians are plentiful. Ebel’s team at the University of Washington watched 1,102 people crossing busy streets at 20 intersections at three different, randomly chosen times.

“Nearly one-third (29.8 percent) of all pedestrians performed a distracting activity while crossing,” they wrote in the journal Injury Prevention. “Distractions included listening to music (11.2 percent), text messaging (7.3 percent) and using a handheld phone (6.2 percent).”

In addition, those using their smart phones crossed more slowly, and were less likely to look around before stepping out into the street, Ebel’s team noted. They also crossed against the light more than undistracted pedestrians.

Sobering statistics show just how unsafe this is: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 60,000 pedestrians are injured and 4,000 killed every year in this country. And other studies have shown that people using cellphones while driving -- even hands-free -- are as impaired as if they'd had a drink or two.

We know we shouldn’t text and walk. But we do it anyway. Why the dangerous disconnect?

“Your brain is hard-wired for this,” says Ebel, who noticed the effect of an electronic summons years ago when, as a physician, she got her first beeper. “To me, this is the most classic Pavlovian model that I can think of."

As every first-year psychology student knows, Pavlov ran a series of experiments with dogs in which he rang a bell and then gave them food. Soon, the dogs began to salivate when the bell rang.

"Text messaging is just the same,” Ebel said. “The phone rings, and we get a nice treat.”

The treat is a fun or interesting text message – certainly more rewarding than looking at traffic.

“Why are we surprised that this is happening? It almost compulsive or instinctual,” Ebel said.

The problem is -- how do we stop it? Pointing out this bad behavior to strangers won't work, according to Ebel.

“I don’t imagine that it is effective to yell at them or scold them,” she said. “The irony of a lot of the cellphone discussion is we all feel indignant when we see someone doing something so risky in front of our noses, but the reality is many of us are doing this.”

Ebel predicts the related issues of cellphone use while driving and pedestrian cellphone use will go the way of drinking and driving laws. It will be illegal first, then socially unacceptable, she said.

As for how representative Seattle is of the entire country, Ebel is not sure. She hopes other people will study pedestrian behavior in their communities and is offering her study materials to schools.

“This is a great kind of project a school could do,” she said. “It makes kids more aware of how unaware people are are when they are distracted.”

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