A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed young American drivers are more likely to use their phones while driving, and students agree it is a common and dangerous problem.

According to the report, 69 percent of American drivers had talked on their cell phones while driving in the last 30 days. It also found 31 percent of drivers admitted to reading or sending text messages or emails while driving, with the most common texting offenders being between 18 and 24 years old.

According to the Ad Council, a driver who’s texting is 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision.

Many University students agree texting and driving is a hazard on the road, but still admit to doing so.

Chemical engineering sophomore Brady Smith said he will occasionally text and drive, but said there is definitely danger involved. Smith also said he believes so many college-aged people text and drive because they feel the need to provide an immediate response.

Economics sophomore Zach Taylor said he agrees college-aged people have a constant need for contact in the age of social media, leading to an increase in distracted driving. Taylor said his cousin was involved in a bad car wreck because of texting. He said he does not text and drive.

Spokesman for the LSU Police Department Capt. Cory Lalonde said texting and driving is a major issue but is particularly difficult to enforce because of the language in the law.

Out of the 1,825 traffic citations issued by LSUPD for the calendar year of 2012, only four of those were issued for texting while driving. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office also had a low number of citations while covering a much larger geographical area, issuing only 65 between January 2012 and March 2013.

According to the Louisiana Revised Statute 32:300.5, “no person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any public road or highway of this state while using a wireless telecommunications device to write, send or read a text-based communication.”

However, things get tricky when the law goes on to state, “a person shall not be deemed to be writing, reading or sending a text message if the person reads, selects or enters a telephone number or name in a wireless telecommunications device for the purpose of making a telephone call.”

Lalonde said this part of the law makes it difficult to determine if a person was actually texting and not using his or her phone to make a phone call.

“Just because they have their phone in their hand doesn’t mean they’re texting,” Lalonde said.

Lalonde said texting is no less of a concern than drinking and driving, but unless an officer has definitive proof, police are not able to issue a citation for texting.

Biology freshman Logan Burnsed said he was involved in a collision while he was in the passenger’s seat of a friend’s vehicle. He was showing the driver a text when the car they were in was “t-boned”.

“A driver’s No. 1 responsibility is to operate the vehicle in a safe manner,” Lalonde said.

“Just because they have their phone in their hand doesn’t mean they’re texting.”