One out of every four American teens aged 16 or 17 have texted while driving, and more than 40 percent have talked on the phone while driving, according to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

They'd better stop. All cell phone use is illegal for drivers under 18 in North Carolina, and starting Dec. 1, texting is illegal for drivers of all ages in the state. (See Oct. 13 Road Worrier column on texting teens.)

The report released today, "Teens and Distracted Driving: Talking, texting and other uses of the cell phone behind the wheel," also says:

- 82% of U.S. teens aged 16-17 own cell phones, and 76% of these cell-phoners use them to send or receive text messages.

- 34% of texting 16-17 yr olds say they have texted while driving. That means 26% of all teens aged 16 and 17. Among teens aged 12-17, 48% say they have been in a car while the driver was texting.

- 52% of cell-phoners aged 16-17 say they have talked on the phone while driving. That means 43% of all American teens in that age group.

A new study rates the Raleigh-Cary area the sixth most dangerous metro area in the nation for pedestrians.

Forty-three pedestrians died in traffic accidents here in 2007 and 2008, a rate of 2.02 pedestrian deaths for every 100,000 residents, according to a report released today by Transportation for America, a coalition of more than 300 national groups that lobbies for transportation improvements.

In a suburban area where only 1.6 percent of local residents walk to work, that high death rate gives Raleigh-Cary a Pedestrian Danger Index of 128.6, according to the Transportation for America report.

The danger list, which ranked the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, was dominated by fast-growing suburban regions where fewer than 2 percent of workers commute on foot.

The Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord area, also with 43 pedestrian deaths in 2007-08, ranked 12th on the danger list. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord had 1.29 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents, in an area where only 1.2 percent of workers walking to work.

Daylight savings season ends Sunday at 2 a.m. That means the sun will set an hour earlier -- so, starting next week, we'll all have a darker drive home from work each day.

In a DOT press release, the state's chief traffic engineer warns us to be careful:

“For many people, it will be almost dark or dark when they leave work, making it more difficult to see bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as other vehicles,” said Kevin Lacy, state traffic engineer for the NCDOT. “As days grow shorter, drivers should also stay alert for school children at bus stops in the early morning hours.”

“Additionally, commuters should be on the lookout for deer, which are most active this time of year especially at dusk,” added Lacy.

This is a good time to make sure your headlights, tail lights, brake lights and signal lights are working. Every night on my drive home, I see drivers who don't realize they need to replace a bulb or two.

View Glenwood Ave. @ Westgate Road, Raleigh in a larger map

Uh oh. Duffy Heath says it could be happening again: a safety fix that introduces new danger at Glenwood and Westgate.

DOT traffic engineers recently made changes intended to improve safety at the Glenwood Avenue intersection with Westgate and Lumley roads in northwest Raleigh (see this week's Road Worrier column).

But Heath says the changes contributed to a scary brush with death there recently. He inadvertently ran the red light and nearly got creamed by two cars rushing down the off-ramp from westbound Glenwood. ... [MORE]

Wednesday is the 13th International Walk to School Day.

It's a good day for parents to walk with their kids to school -- to promote healthy exercise, pedestrian safety and family togetherness.

Learn more here.

Lots of readers have stories to tell about run-ins with deer, and near-misses (see today's Road Worrier column, with reader comments).

Deer can be especially dangerous if you're riding on only two wheels.

Ned Kennington of Durham was riding his bicycle on U.S. 70 near Duke Forest in August 2008 when a gorgeous buck flashed across the road in front of him. Unfortunately, the buck was not traveling alone:

As I turned my head to the right to try to catch a glimpse of him as he disappeared into the woods, a tremendous force stuck my shoulder from the left side where the buck had come from. ... [MORE]

Deer hunters who use guns must wait until Oct. 17 in Eastern North Carolina (Nov. 14 in central counties) -- but for automobile drivers, deer season is under way.

Cars kill uncounted deer each year on North Carolina roads. And, since 2006, deer have killed 18 people in cars.

Fall is the worst season for deer crashes.  Total crash numbers have declined on North Carolina highways in recent years -- but car-deer collisions have increased.

Have you had a run-in with deer? Please share your story. E-mail me at bruce.siceloff@newsobserver.com or call me: (919) 829-4527. Please include your name and contact info (home and work) so I can call you back.

Meanwhile, let's be careful out there.  The UNC Highway Safety Research Center has good advice to help you steer clear of deer.

Starting Wednesday, it’s against state law to watch TV, look at a laptop, or stare at a DVD player while driving.

Don’t worry, it’s still legal to mesmerize yourself with all sorts of other distracting gadgets. And still dangerous.

You can still gaze at GPS and other navigation gizmos, audio system displays, and that cute little screen that tells drivers of some cars what kind of gas mileage they’re getting. It’s OK also to look at one of those video images designed to keep you from backing the car over a tricycle in your driveway.

The new law is an update of an ancient ban that only covered live television broadcasts received via TV antennas. It’s not clear whether the new law restricts our freedom to fiddle with our iPods as we drive.

What about texting while driving? That’s still legal until ... [MORE]

You can't ask for much better than same-day service, and that's what DOT provided this week.

In Tuesday's Road Worrier column, Debra Aycock explained a paint problem that makes navigation difficult for left-turn drivers at the big, busy U.S. 15-501 interchange with I-40 in Durham.

By the end of the day Tuesday, a DOT paint crew was out there putting down fresh "mini-skips" -- the two-foot-long lane divider lines that are supposed to guide drivers from the I-40 off-ramp as they curve across 10 lanes of traffic on U.S. 15-501. Aycock pointed out that heavy traffic had erased the lines, leaving drivers confused about how to make that turn and how to end up in the correct lane on 15-501.

Joey Hopkins, DOT deputy division engineer for a 7-county area that includes Durham, said a DOT crew freshened up the mini-skips at this interchange on Tuesday -- and also at a similar trouble spot on the 540 Outer Loop in Wake County, where some left-turn drivers were flying blind. ... [MORE]

Some Road Worrier leftovers (see today's column, with reader comments, about drivers who make school crosswalks unsafe):

CROSSWALK SAFETY TIPS

Pedestrians:

Always use marked crosswalks.
Obey pedestrian signals. Look left-right-left.
Make eye contact with the driver.
Look before walking past stopped cars, to make sure other lanes are clear.

Drivers:

Observe school zone speed limits, and watch for pedestrians and cyclists.
Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks and at corners.
Come to a complete stop if pedestrians are preparing to cross, and wait until they finish crossing.
Never pass another car that is slowing or stopped at a crosswalk.

Learn more at hsrc.unc.edu.