According to research in Britain, 50 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 send text messages while they’re behind the wheel. For anyone who’s seen the studies showing that texting drivers are about as safe as those who’ve just lost (or won) a Wild Turkey drink-off, that’s fairly terrifying.
So, authorities in a town in Wales decided to commission a film showing just how terrifying the results can be. Four teenage girls are riding in a car, the driver is texting, and–it just gets bloody and disturbing from there. Out of curiosity, we asked a sometimes offender in that demographic for an opinion on the film. After the first 30 seconds our focusee looked pale and shaken and said, “I’m never going to do that again.”
The buzz around the Welsh short just adds more momentum to the international movement to crack down on the practice. In the US, Congress is considering the ALERT Drivers Act, which would cut transportation funding to states that don’t outlaw it. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is also convening a “distracted driving” summit next month to examine the problem and consider what measures to take against it.
Meanwhile, YouTube has deemed this film so graphic that you need to be at least 18 in order to watch it… this in a country where millions of 16 and 17 year-old drive and text each year and untold numbers of them pay for it with their lives. Smart stuff, fellas.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
One version of this ends with a credits list thanking a local comprehensive.
“Comprehensive” is the English term for a high school.
Things Are Different abroad.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Regarding your case study, I can’t help but be reminded of Winston Churchill’s quote:
“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.”
After people get over the shock of a video like this, many just might absorb it as something they “know”. And then be lured back into texting while driving — except then they will have gained some immunity to the knowledge of its danger.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:38 am
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