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SALT LAKE CITY -- Students at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday used their texting thumbs and ink to make a pledge not to text and drive.
It's part of an effort by Allstate insurance and local agency owner Howard Burkholz to raise awareness of the problem.
Burkholz said it's a small effort, but without raising awareness the problem would be greater.
The Allstate Foundation says 49 percent of all teens recognize texting as a distraction -- a big jump from 31 percent in a poll taken in 2005.
The same recent study said 82 percent of teens report using their cell phones while driving.
Burkholz, though, thinks young people are catching on. "Just my own observation, when I drive around it seems I see more adults picking up their cell phones and driving," he said.
Students who took part got small thumb bands that say "Texting Kills."
Burkholz will also conduct the pledge effort at Davis High.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
