Texting while driving has now replaced drunk driving as the number one cause of teenage deaths on the road in the U.S., new research has found. The study, performed by the Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York, found that more than 300,000 teens are injured and more than 3,000 die each year as a result of sending SMS messages while behind the wheel. Although it is illegal to text and drive in the UK, it is still allowed in many states in the U.S. By comparison, 282,000 are injured and 2,700 teenagers are killed as a result of drink driving. The study was conducted by lead author Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, along with a team of Cohen investigators. It found that while driving between September 2010 and December 2011, among 8,947 teenagers aged 15-18 nationwide, an estimated 49% of boys admitted to texting while driving, compared with 45% of girls.