State Farm has released its annual research report on distracted driving, and not a moment too soon. As we hit the roads this holiday season, it is more important than ever to be mindful of drivers around you, especially those who might not be paying as much attention as they should be.

Texting and driving has been a concern for many years, but an entirely new concern has surfaced since most cell phones now have internet browsing capability: Webbing and driving. Four years of data shows a significant increase in the number of people accessing the internet while driving- scary stuff, right?

It’s no surprise that the brunt of distracted driving falls mostly on young adults, but data indicates motorists of all age groups are using the web while driving. In general, accessing the internet while driving across all age groups, increased from 13% in 2009 to 21% in 2012.

Across many states, laws are being implemented banning the use of cell phones without hand-free devices in cars, however almost two-thirds of people believe this is not enough. Some companies are considering technology that would limit the ability to use a cell phone while the vehicle is moving. 45% of people surveyed were likely to support this type of technology.

This holiday season, put your phones away and watch out for others who may not have taken the same precautions.

Without a doubt, cars packed with technology tend to look sleek and high-end. With more and more cars going down a route of touch screens, built-in navigation systems, and Bluetooth phone capabilities, we couldn’t be more grateful for voice commands!

Voice commands have almost become a necessity in today’s technology-packed cars. It’s simply not realistic to expect a person to safely operate a vehicle while trying to adjust temperature settings via a touch screen. These intuitive voice command systems have incredible voice recognition capabilities, allowing the computer to understand your commands.

These voice command systems can seem intimidating if you’ve never used one before, but once you get to know the commands that your car responds to, it’s very easy to get your car to do exactly what you want! In many of these cars, some touch-screen features are disabled while the car is in motion for safety reasons. This means it is critical for you to learn your car’s voice command system.

Route your GPS, make a phone call, change your music, turn up the heat, or any number of other car functions simply with your voice. It doesn’t get much easier than that - and we sure are thankful car manufacturers are taking the needed steps to keep us all safe.

Today, Sept. 17, young drivers nationwide are pledging to take two seconds to turn off their cell phones before getting behind the wheel. This is part of National Two-Second Turnoff Day – the culmination of a distracted driving awareness campaign from AAA, Seventeen magazine, and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

"Taking your eyes off of the road for two seconds doubles your risk of a crash or near-crash and National Two-Second Turnoff Day is an opportunity for young drivers nationwide to take control of their own safety behind the wheel by making the wise and responsible decision not to drive while distracted," said Kathleen Marvaso, AAA vice-president of public affairs. "National Two-Second Turnoff Day is a reminder to drivers of all ages that they should keep their eyes and attention on the road while driving at all times."

In an earlier post, we told you about YouTube Video Challenge to Combat Distracted Driving. Click here to watch the winning video that nabbed teen Emily $2,000 from Discover and AAA.

More about the Dangers of Distracted Driving (from a recent survey by AAA & Seventeen)

• Almost nine in 10 teen drivers (86 percent) have driven while distracted, even though 84 percent of teen drivers know it's dangerous.
• 60 percent have talked on a cell phone and 28 percent have sent a text message while driving. 
• Teen drivers who text while driving reported sending, on average, 23 text messages while driving in the past month.
• More than one-third of teen drivers (36 percent) believe they have been involved in a near-crash because of their own or someone else's distracted driving.

To help your teen – and maybe even yourself – learn about the dangers of distracted driving, there are a number of web resources out there, including TeenDriving.AAA.com.

What do you think of distracted driving awareness campaigns like this?

What do you tell your teen about cell phones and driving?