Not a Time to Multitask

Teenage drivers with ADHD are four times more likely to have a car accident, a problem the University at Buffalo attributes to texting while driving.

By using a driving simulator, Gregory A. Fabiano, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo, is trying to help teens with ADHD become better drivers and more importantly: stop texting. Statistics show that teens are the worst drivers and teenagers with ADHD are four times as likely to be involved in car accident

Fabiano's study found that people who text while driving can be "as bad as drunk drivers or worse." Simulated driving experiments show that teens who text while driving lose control frequently.

Unfortunately, teens with ADHD are more likely to text while driving and experience problems due to their inability to gauge how their actions affect others, according to Fabiano. "Most of the teens we work with think they can easily text while driving," he adds.

This study, which began in April of 2010, is a five-year long project designed to help children with ADHD and their parents assess their driving skills before heading out on the road. It is geared primarily towards ADHD teens with learner's permits.