Etowah High School students received a crash course in the dangers of distracted driving on Thursday morning.

The students were visited by Cpl. Mike Wells, supervisor for Cherokee Sheriff's Office Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic Unit, who warned the students against distracted driving.

Billie Morgan, the school's public safety teacher, said she suspected some of her students were texting while driving.

"It's dangerous, and I knew the kids were doing it," she said. "I wanted them to be aware of the consequences."

The classes are offered by the sheriff's office at teachers' request.

Wells spoke during three of Ms. Morgan's classes. She also invited students from her other classes to attend.

Wells presented facts to the students, such as nearly 80 percent of accidents in this country involved distracted driving and Georgia is third-highest in the country as to how many drive while distracted.

Driving while distracted, particularly texting while driving, has become a national trend. According to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, one in four teenagers of driving age admitted to texting behind the wheel.

Wells said texting while driving occupies one or both hands, causes drivers to take their eyes off the road and extends the reaction time of drivers.

He also showed a brief documentary film that featured a Utah man who spent time in prison for causing an accident that killed two scientists in 2006.

Reggie Shaw, then a 19-year-old college student, was found to have been texting while driving moments before the accident occurred.

The tragedy forced Utah legislators to passed one of the nation's toughest laws against texting while driving. Offenders can now spend as long as 15 years in prison for causing a fatality in an accident because of texting while driving.

Tracking exact numbers of incidents when texting while driving leads to crashes is difficult, according to local law enforcement agencies. Officers also can't always prove incidents were caused by texting alone.

Unless an officer checks the cell phone, many drivers won't admit to using their mobile devices moments before a crash, according to police.

Wells said it's clear to him and other officers the prevalence of texting behind the wheel has exploded.

"You can just sit at a red light and watch their hands," he said of drivers.

Cell phone and other electronic device usage in cars has grown exponentially across the country.

A 2008 study by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, an office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, concluded that 6 percent of drivers visibly manipulated a cell phone device in 2008.

That means 812,000 vehicles were being driven by someone using a handheld cell phone at any given moment, the study concluded.

Wells said he wants the students to realize the consequences of their actions.

"I hope they see the reality that distracting yourself while driving is dangerous," he said. "Full attention needs to be on driving."

Two students in Ms. Morgan's class said they took that message to heart.

Katie Sherman, the 17-year-old daughter of Fred and Lisa Sherman of Towne Lake, said the documentary and the statistics "kind of scares you."

Katie, a senior at Etowah, also said the death of another Cherokee County teenager, was also an eye-opener.

She was referring to Victoria Heil, the former Woodstock High School student who died in a crash on Interstate 575 in December 2008 in which a cell phone was involved.

"I only pick up the phone if I need to," Katie said.

Tanner Romine, the 18-year-old son of Steve and Cathy Romine of Towne Lake, said he's learned that texting while driving is "stupid."

"It was very informative," he said. "I never knew so many people could die from texting."

For information about the classes, call (678) 618-0923 or e-mail mlwells @cherokeega.com.