(WSBT) If your holiday weekend plans will take you out on the road, there's a good chance you'll see someone send a text message from behind the wheel. Maybe you'll even send one yourself. We all know it's never a good idea to take our eyes off the road, but just how dangerous is it? WSBT set up a test to find out.

One second is all it takes

For 19-year-old Patrick Sims, Thanksgiving means heartbreak. On the day before the holiday two years ago, the Denver high school senior was behind the wheel less than a mile away from home. His fingers were typing feverishly on his cell phone.

He says he only looked down for one second.

Turns out, that's all it took.

"I couldn't swerve. I couldn't move it, because he was just that close," he told CBS News. "There was nothing I could do to possibly stop the car accident from happening."

Patrick gripped the wheel as the car sliced through the bike lane. He felt the gut-wrenching thud of the 63-year-old cyclist who careened off his bumper; the recent grandfather who lay dead beside the car.

It was only one second that took one life, and changed Patrick's forever.

Just how common is it?

It's a heartbreaking story that's become all too common across the country. A recent study by the auto club AAA found 61 percent of teens admitted to engaging in "risky" behavior behind the wheel, including sending text messages.

It's already prompted some cities like Phoenix to ban text messaging while driving; 16 other states, and the District of Columbia have banned teens from using cell phones on the road altogether. The nearest is Illinois, but Indiana and Michigan have no state law specifically addressing teen cell phone use behind the wheel.

WSBT asked a group of teens from the South Bend Police Department's Explorer Post how common texting behind the wheel is in Michiana.

All said they do it on a regular basis.

"Maybe once an hour," said 20-year-old Chad Lemak, who graduated from Penn High School in 2004.

"Almost every time I'm in the car," said 19-year-old Matthew Cory, who graduated from Washington High School last year.

"I text a lot," said 18-year-old Courtney Demming, who graduated from Penn High School last year.

"All the time. I don't really think about it," said 16-year-old Rusty Collins, a junior at Clay High School.

And even though these teens have heard stories like Patrick's before, they all say they're now texting more than ever.

Just how dangerous is it?

With the help of the South Bend Police Department and driving experts at South Bend's Tire Rack, we set up a test course on Tire Rack's proving ground track to find out.

Each driver received a series of text messages behind the wheel, and had to send back an answer. The lanes were regulation size — 12 feet wide — and "real life" obstacles were set up as well.

"It's kind of a controlled street driving, but in a safe environment," said Tire Rack's John Rastettler. "It's a challenge, but it's not anything that wouldn't happen driving on the street."

Driver #1

Courtney was up first. Her first question read, "What are your three favorite colors?" She began to answer, and managed to barely avoid hitting our first obstacle — a basketball thrown out to simulate a child running out into the street.

Our chalk-outlined lane markers, however, weren't quite as lucky. It's clear on the footage captured by our mounted cameras on the test car: Every time a driver hit the lane, chalk flew up into the air.

Driver #2

The youngest driver in the group, Rusty Collins, took the wheel next. His results were even more dramatic.

While looking down to answer his second question — "What's your birthday?" — he hit the basketball.

The expression on his shocked face told the story.

"Oh! I wasn't looking! I wasn't even looking at the road," he said. "That could've been a kid."

Rusty hit the chalk too, and our cameras clearly captured why. On the second question alone, Rusty's eyes left the road 19 times. And the evidence kept piling up. As the lead car slowed down, Rusty sped forward for more than two seconds at nearly 35 mph before slamming on the brakes just inches from a collision.

Again, his eyes were on his phone.

In the front passenger seat, South Bend Police Corporal Edward Koczan wasn't surprised.

"Texting actually impairs a person's judgment in driving and reaction time to a point that's similar to people considered to be intoxicated while driving," he said.

Driver #3

So it stands to reason you'd want at least one hand on the wheel, right?

Not Chad Lemak.

He texts with two hands because his phone has a full keyboard. He avoided the ball, but didn't hesitate at all when our lead car cut him off. He also avoided a collision by just inches.

When asked if he saw the car coming up beside him in his side mirror, he said, "Not at all."

Driver #4

Our last driver, Matthew, drove military vehicles in the U.S. Army. He hit less of our lane chalk, but again came very close to hitting our obstacles.

"It's not worth it"

After the test we asked the drivers how they thought they stacked up.

"I looked down a lot, but I thought I stayed within the lines," said Courtney.

"I could tell my reaction time really changed when I was texting and when I wasn't," said Matthew.

"I didn't do as well as I thought I would," said Rusty. "It could've been a kid running out in front of the basketball. That's a life-changing experience, and just because you want to get in touch with your friends? [It's] not worth it."

Analyzing the results

For Corporal Koczan, the assessment was simple.

Every driver moved outside their lane and — at times — swerved within their lane. Every driver drove at least 5 mph slower than the posted speed limit — some up to 10 mph under. Every driver sent messages with an incorrect, incomplete, or misspelled answer. And every driver took their eyes off the road.

"[It was] an average of 15 times each message that their eyes were looking up and down on the road," he said.

And AAA says for every two seconds your eyes are off the road, you're twice as likely to be involved in an accident.

For some that's opened eyes.

Getting the message

"[I'm] definitely not going to be texting while I'm driving anymore," said Rusty.

But not for all.

"It makes you think twice," said Courtney. "But will it stop me? It's not going to stop me."

"I probably will [send text messages while driving]," said Matthew. "But only when I stop at stoplights or somewhere that's not real congested."

They're not the words Patrick Sims might hope to hear, because every day he now lives without words.

"There's no words to say how sorry I am," he told CBS News.

He continues to hope his story and tests like this are enough to keep heartbreak from hitting someone else. And Patrick Sims paid for that heartbreak. He served 10 days behind bars, and as part of his probation, he no longer has a driver's license or a cell phone. He now spends time talking to other teens about his experience.

And it seems people are getting the message.

A poll taken in September shows 90 percent of those surveyed think texting while driving should be against the law.

There has been talk about putting a law in place in Indiana and Michigan to do that, but so far no action has been taken on it. And it's not just cell phones being considered. Bans on using other devices like iPods and portable GPS units behind the wheel have also been discussed.