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It's become quite an issue recently. Several states and even some Michigan communities have banned texting while driving.
Right now, there's a new cell phone application that prevents teens from texting while driving.
It's called Textecution, and it's meant to give parents more control over their teens cell phone habits.
Christie Lauman, Verison sales representative from Frankenmuth, says "There's 46% of teens from 16 to 17 years old that admit to texting and driving. So there's obviously a ton that don't admit it."
NBC25 took Textecution out for a spin. GPS technology tracks the speed of the phone, and once a vehicle reaches 10 mile an hour, a message pops up saying "You are moving too fast to use this application."
However, if you stop at a stop light or pull over, textecution allows you to text.
With Textecution, if you receive a text while driving more than 10 miles an hour your phone beeps like it normally would, but when you try to open it, it won't let you.
At any time, a parent can unlock the anti-texting feature from their phone.
The always-on application is available only for the Droid phones and only at Wireless Zone locations.
Lauman says, "It's a $40 application. We do it for free until the end of March."
There are plans to expand the program to other phones.
There are limitations to the application. For instance, a teen can uninstall the program on their phone. Their parent would have to check to make sure it's still on.
