The traffic light turned green and the driver prepared to accelerate.

Sophomore Amy Hong sat beside her mother, who was in the driver’s seat, when suddenly, the man driving behind them accelerated too soon, resulting in a rear-end collision.

According to Hong, the man saw the traffic light turn green, but failed to notice that Hong’s car had not yet moved. The man later said he was distracted by his phone.

Daniel McGehee, director of Human Factors and Vehicle Safety Research Division at the University of Iowa, said that when parents are on their telephone while driving, their kids are more prone to follow those behaviors.

Senior Jacob Spitz also believes that adults are a large influence on kids. He said that parents should not text and drive for the sake of their children’s safety.

When Hong watches adults text and drive, she said she can learn from their mistakes.

McGehee mentioned that research has revealed a variety of chemical reactions occurring in the human body upon receiving a text message. Using the research’s outcomes, he explained that when people receive text messages, their bodies stimulate an intense urge to respond.

Because of this, researchers think this is why people text while driving, despite danger. “[Receiving a text message] is a very interesting phenomenon of how compelling and how powerful the biology of wanting to respond to a text is,” McGehee said.

However, he said that more and more people are utilizing the many applications that prevent people from texting and driving.

The applications allow users to create auto-reply messages notifying others that the user is driving and will respond later when safe.

“You’re not paying attention to the road for a few seconds at a time and it only takes a few seconds to get into a car crash,” said Spitz. “It puts others in danger besides themselves.”