About 40 students from across the state drove while talking on cell phones, texting, eating and drinking—all in the interest of making roads safer and saving lives.

“;Teenagers are so keen at multi-tasking,”; said Lance Tanaka of Tesoro Hawaii, describing a three-hour course at Aloha Stadium yesterday to teach high school students the dangers of distracted driving.

Tesoro Hawaii Operation Driver Excellence has been conducted annually for about 20 years.

The state Department of Education and Hawaii Association for Safety and Traffic Educators collaborate for the event, which this year had 37 student participants, 53 teachers, 18 parents—and a new partner.

The Allstate Foundation brought its national “;Action Against Distraction Driving Challenge”; to Honolulu.

The teenage drivers navigated a course with all kinds of distractions, including people screaming and waving signs, “;which is real now with the political landscape,”; Tanaka said. Nearly three-fourths of teen driving crashes are caused by driver error and distraction, Katherine Powell, a spokeswoman for Allstate Insurance, said in a news release.

Students and parents took written driving exams Friday at Radford High School and a driving test at Aloha Stadium. Students also practiced for six obstacle courses.

The Allstate Foundation awarded five $2,000 scholarships to school teams that conducted a peer educational project, campaign or activity addressing “;distracted driving”; and driver safety. The top three projects selected received an additional $1,000.

Individual and school team winners received Tesoro fuel cards and driver education instructors of the winning students also received awards.