Texting and Driving PSA

This Texting While Driving PSA Will Scare You Senseless


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m58hGFUbICE

It's a sobering statistic, but around nine people are killed and more than 1,000 people are injured each day as a result of distracted driving, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Texting while driving, since it is the leading cause of death in American teens, is clearly one of the most costly forms of distracted driving, even more so than drunk driving in many cases.

Now, throwing out statistics is one way to discourage texting while driving, but appealing to would-be offenders on a personal level, through public service announcements, is probably a much more effective way to get teen drivers to put down their cell phones, save that text message for later, and focus on safe driving.

Take this texting while driving PSA from a Rigby High School student in Idaho, for example. For the video, which was posted back in 2012 and racked up more than 3 million views, the student teamed up with the local EMS and Fire departments to stage a recreation of Rigby's own students dying in a car accident. "Powerful" is definitely one word you could use to describe this video.

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If that doesn't get young drivers to think twice before looking at that cell phone while behind the wheel, I don't know what will. Of course, driving laws throughout the United States are working to decrease the amount of distracted drivers.

That being said, each state, whether it be Massachusetts or Maryland or Utah or Arizona, handles texting while driving somewhat differently. Some states ban cell phone use behind the wheel altogether, while others simply prohibit school bus drivers from texting.

Hence, the importance of videos like the one above. At the very least, it got Rigby High School students to rethink their behind-the-wheel texting habits.

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