Americans overwhelmingly think texting while driving is dangerous, but about half of cell phone users do it anyway. Worse yet, 44 percent of U.S. adults say they've been a passenger in a car when a driver used their cell phone in a way that created a dangerous situation, according to a poll released Friday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The finding suggests that drivers are talking out of both sides of their mouth. In a poll published last year, 89 percent of adults said they think texting while driving is dangerous and they would support a ban.

States and local governments have acted aggressively to legislate against texting while driving, and 28 states ban it outright, but the laws appear to be having little impact.

While recent emphasis has been placed on stopping young drivers from texting -- 28 states and the District of Columbia ban all cell phone use by novice drivers -- adults are by one measure even more likely to text while driving. A Pew study last year found that 34 percent of 16- and 17-year-old drivers admitted sending or reading a text while driving, while 47 percent of adults said they had done so in the new study.

"People are happy with their cell phones. There's a sense that it's happening all the time all around them, so it must be ok," said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project.

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