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The popular comic strip Zits has partnered up with AAA and plans to produce a strip that addresses the dangers of texting while driving. The strip will appear in more than 1,600 newspapers. Personal experience and distracted drivers inspired the comic’s creators, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman. Scott said that the children of today have a Pavlovian-response to the bells, alerts, and alarms set off by cell phones. The character Jeremy will be used in this strip’s theme, AAA has used the character before in previous materials to address other issues regarding teen driving. According to research conducted by the AAA foundation, 9 out of 10 drivers consider driving while texting “a very serious threat to their safety.” In some cases, drivers found texting while driving more dangerous than drinking and driving. A survey dont by the Department of Transportation/Consumer Reports revealed that out of the 1,026 people surveyed, 63% of respondents under 30 admitted to using handheld phones while driving; 30% admitted they texted while driving within the past month. However, 78% of the overall respondents said they reduced or completely stopped behaviors related to distracted driving. Teen drivers fail to realize the dangers of texting while driving and under appreciate the value of their own lives. It has been recommended that parents draft and have their children sign driving contracts, a copy of which can be found on AAA’s website. For more read Popular comic strip Zits to produce issue about dangers of texting while driving.