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What're they supposed to do, pull over every 45 seconds?

According to a national survey of 1,000 16- and 17-year-old drivers released on July 10 by AAA, 46 percent send text messages with their cell phones while driving.

To the folks at AAA, that's a high number, with alarming safety implications.

To Albuquerque 18-year-old Jesse Gallagher, it's par for the course.

"I bet it's even more than that," he said on July 10.

Gallagher doesn't know how many times he texts in a day, but said he receives or sends a text message about every 45 seconds to a minute.

"You learn to text without looking," he said. "Then it gets easier."

Maybe not quite easy enough. About a month ago, Gallagher said, he was involved in an accident that "was really the other guy's fault."

"I was texting and the guy cut in front of me," he said. "Then I looked up and he put on his brakes and I didn't have enough time to stop."

Gallagher also said he has been cited for talking on his cell phone while driving.

To AAA, distractions while driving are a critical safety problem.

"Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens, claiming more than 6,000 15- to 20-year-olds each year," AAA New Mexico spokeswoman Jeannie Chavez said in a press release. "Their attention should not be divided among phones, friends and the road."

But David McGinnis, who instructs new drivers daily at the McGinnis School of Driving, said text-messaging teens aren't necessarily a scourge.

"Adults do it too," he said. "The most accidents are people age 19-26, not teenagers. They're (teens) multitasking, and they're able to do it. The ones who get into accidents are partying and horsing around."

Deseray Gonzalez, 17, estimated the number of texts she receives daily at about 500. She sheepishly admitted she texts while driving.

"But I have the letters memorized," she said. "I can watch the road at the same time, pretty much."

Police say there's no legal gray area in Albuquerque. The city enacted a ban on hand-held cell phone use while driving in February.

"If you take a look at the ban, you need a hands-free device," Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John Walsh said. "Texting or utilizing a BlackBerry is still reading instead of concentrating on driving and can be hazardous to the motoring public around you."

Metro Court could not provide data on July 10 on how many Duke City drivers have been cited under the new law.

Some teens are taking the ban seriously. Margarita Molina is 17 and, not surprisingly, didn't know how often she receives or sends texts, saying only "All day." She said she makes sure not to text at the wheel.

"I don't want to get in a wreck," she said. "And now they have that law. I make sure I don't text or talk on the phone while I'm driving."

If the ban or reports of increased accidents don't deter all teenage drivers, there are other ways of policing them.

Blake Romero, 14, just got his learner's permit, and said even though he's a nonstop texter - "I do it during school, in class . . . everywhere" — he keeps his hands off his phone while driving.

"It's dangerous. You can't watch the road," he said. "Plus, my mom smacks me on the back of the head."