BY JEREMY SLAYTON

Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Virginia drivers, beware: The commonwealth is one of the worst states for texting and driving.

A survey released today ranks Virginia sixth in the nation for the percentage of drivers who admit they've sent text messages with their cell phones while operating a vehicle.

Richmond resident Tom Henry admits that he sometimes sends text messages while behind the wheel. When he does, he said he tries to do it as safely as possible.

"I try not to run into people, and I haven't yet, but it is very dangerous," Henry said yesterday. "It should be against the law. I say every time I do it, 'I'm not going to do it again.'"

The online survey of 4,820 people -- commissioned by Vlingo, a Cambridge, Mass., company that markets voice-recognition software -- reported that 35.6 percent of Virginians polled said they send text messages while driving.

Anytime results are self-reported, "you have to wonder how accurate they are," said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association.

However, he added, "We know we have a problem with distracted driving" as people get behind the wheel and focus on things other than driving.

Nationally, 28 percent of those surveyed by Vlingo admitted to driving while texting. The worst offender was South Carolina, where 40 percent said they text and drive. Arizona checked in as the least offensive, with 17 percent.

Stephanie Bach, a Richmond resident, said she talks on her phone while driving, but the only time she'll text behind the wheel is when she's stopped at a stoplight.

She credits multitasking as a reason why people text and drive.

Henry put it a little more simply -- "People text me; I text them back."

Richmonder Otha Pryor, who gets around mostly on a bicycle or on foot, said that drivers who text not only pose a danger to other drivers, they also are a threat to bicyclists and pedestrians.

"We all know how there are lot of things going on the streets, where you have to be focused, but when you're texting -- which is a lot more in-depth than talking on your cell phone -- it's hard to focus on the road or pedestrians," Pryor said.

Of 145,405 car crashes in Virginia last year, 1,590 involved a driver using a cell phone, according to preliminary data compiled by the Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Safety Office.

"It's really ridiculous; I don't think people realize how dangerous it can be," said Haygen Walker, a rising senior at Prince George High School. "They're splitting their focus between two different things."

Sending text messages has become easier because of the evolution of smartphones, which offer a full keyboard, said Walker, who does not text while he's driving, but has heard his classmates talk about doing it.

Del. James M. Scott, D-Fairfax, attempted to ban the practice of texting and driving when he filed a bill before the start of the 2008 General Assembly session that would have prohibited the operation of a vehicle while texting. The bill failed.

Pryor and Henry said it would take a law to curb texting while driving.

"When common sense and public safety are an issue, then lawmakers need to step in," Pryor said.

During the 2007 General Assembly, a bill was passed that made it illegal for 16and 17-year-olds to talk on cell phones or send text messages while driving.

Washington state and New Jersey are the only states that ban text messaging for all drivers.

Contact Jeremy Slayton at jslayton@timesdispatch.com