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A report coming out of Pew Research Center’s “Internet & American Life Project” is offering evidence supporting a trend of adults being more likely to text or talk on their cell phones while they are driving than teenagers.

The study found that roughly 47% of adults who actually text have done so while they were driving, compared to only 34% of people between the ages of 16 and 17 who text.

Pew’s survey also showed that roughly 74% of adults who own cell phones have used them in one way or another while driving, compared to only 52% of teens.

The new data are surprising to some, but troublesome for most everyone. Studies in recent years have found that people who text while they drive are far more likely to wreck than if they were to put down their phones and focus on the road. The Virginia Tech Transportation Unit conducted a study in 2009, in which they found drivers are 23 times more likely to have an accident than if they were not texting.

Most states in the U.S. have banned texting while driving (28 states and Washington D.C.).  Many cities in states that have not yet acted on the troublesome trend – with Stephenville, TX being a recent example – have also taken it upon themselves to ban the act.

William Hook / flickr.com

On the heels of possibly losing their exclusivity deal with Apple’s popular iPhone–thus giving Verizon entry into the market—AT&T has announced that they have significantly increased their fees for smart phone holders who choose to opt out of their contracts early.

AT&T declined to suggest that this change in policy is directly related to the upcoming expiration of their deal with Apple, but the timing may raise some flags.

Smart phone early cancellation fees will jump from $175 under AT&T to a hefty maximum of $325. This change will not apply to current contract holders as their agreements have already been signed. Instead, the fee increase will go into effect for all contracts signed on or after June 1, 2010.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel quipped that “AT&T’s smart phone ETF (Early Termination Fee) is, at $325, still less expensive than Verizon’s smart phone ETF, at $350.”

Granted, the hike in fees does not apply to absolutely everyone under the AT&T sun. In fact, if you are not a smart phone user, your fees may actually decrease to $150. Of course, that is only if you re-up on your contract. For now, if you already have a contract with this provider, your fee is still $175 (individual cases may vary based on length of time remaining on customer’s contract).

As many consumers will point out, whether or not AT&T’s fees stack up well against Verizon is not what resonates most with this announcement. It’s that this is yet another example of major cell phone services’ ability to prevent you from moving freely to another carrier.

Early Termination Fees have become a particular point of interest for the Federal Communications Commission lately. Whether or not the FCC will comment on AT&T’s announcement remains to be seen.