Surfing the internet while driving doubles from 5 years ago

Texting while driving is just one of the many modern distractions behind the wheel. According to the latest State Farm report, drivers are also searching the Internet while driving.

The number of people driving while using the Internet has nearly doubled over the past five years, according to State Farm’s report.

In addition, there is a significant increase in older people owning smartphones. In two years, those in their 30s using smart phones increased by 26 percent.

“We always point the finger at teenagers. It’s not just the teens its those of us that are older who have smart phones. We are doing the same thing,” said Jim Camoriano with State Farm.

Missouri laws on texting while driving only affect those under 21 years of age. However, a distraction is a distraction no matter what the age, according to experts.

“Anybody who has a phone potentially could be dangerous if you are not having two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road,” said Camoriano.

Even with the 41 states that have texting laws in place, researchers found more than half surveyed do not think those laws are actually being enforced.