Nearly a third of American drivers apparently have a death wish, based on data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC's study is based on data collected in the US during October 2011, and the organization found that approximately one in three American drivers send or read text messages on their cell phones while driving.

This data, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report this week, showed more than half of two demographic groups—women from 18 to 24, and men from 25 to 34 years of age—admitted to texting while driving within the 30 days prior to taking the survey.

The study also included a similar survey of European drivers conducted in June of 2011. By comparison, drivers in most of the countries covered by the study were much less likely to text (or at least, less likely to admit to texting) while driving. Only Portugal matched the US in texting-while-driving behavior.

It's important to remember this data came from surveys performed in the US and Europe in 2011, so they may not reflect the impact of recent anti-texting laws or other efforts in the US to curb the practice. (At the same time, it also didn't include responses from the countless people who couldn't respond due to tragic death or injury from accidents experienced while texting.)