CHARLOTTE -- Driving, talking, and texting -- some call it a deadly combination but every day millions of drivers push the limits of safety.

A new study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that eight out of 10 crashes and 65 percent of near crashes occurred when drivers were distracted, mainly using cell phones or PDAs.

"When you are doing something other than driving, you are creating a dangerous situation for yourself and others," said Tom Crosby of AAA.

It is illegal in North Carolina for a driver under the age of 18 and school bus drivers to use a cell phone or text but it is not illegal for those over 18 to send text messages.

"Texting is more dangerous than talking on the phone because it requires you to be looking down, versus looking at the road," said Kyle Faderly, of State Farm Insurance.

While he's never heard of texting or talking playing a factor in insurance claims, Faderly says he expects insurance companies to take a closer look at the dangers of distracted driving in the future.

"Anything that's going to lead to accidents is always going to be something that an insurance company or the insurance industry will be looking at," he said.

Federal investigators are looking into whether the engineer of a commuter train in California was text messaging before the train ran a red light and collided with a Union Pacific freight train. The crash killed 25 people.