Texting & Driving

[PineappleMama]

Our school district posted this on their website (aisd) in the hopes of educating its students...

I'd already seen it, but it is worth a look. Particularly if you have a teen.

It is pretty disturbing, but if it gets the lesson learned then maybe that's what it takes?

http://www.aisd.net/video/texting/

 

[flgardengirl]

Good post. I really hate people who text and drive. I hate when people even talk on thier phones and drive. I wish it was illegal everywhere. I can't even count how many times I have almost been side swiped by idiots on thier cell phones. I love my phone and text a lot but I keep mine in my purse in the back seat if I'm driving. I don't think there is anything soooo important that has to be said or text'd that is worth killing someone else or yourself.

 

[lovesduckies]

pretty graphic!! that's why i have my passenger text for me if it is that important. well... if they are blackberry savy lol they are tough and my mom is technology challenged so she can't text for me. i usually don't hear it anyway. i put my phone in the cup holder so i don't get tempted.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Yeah I tried to have DH text for me, but he is Blackberry challenged

I try to pull over to make a call or use the gps when I'm trying to find an address for work.

 

[lovesduckies]

Quote:
Yeah I tried to have DH text for me, but he is Blackberry challenged

I try to pull over to make a call or use the gps when I'm trying to find an address for work.

HAHAHAHA. if my phone rings, it's usually my mom or sis (no one calls me or text me anymore) soo i usually put my phone on speaker phone and put it in my bra. lol heyyy it's hands free

 

[Ferrret]

It is a graphic ad but really nothing much worse than the consequences of drunk driving videos they show to seniors before the prom.
My issue with it is that it is overplayed. The accident and damage caused was enough to get the message across. The little kid asking why mom and dad aren't responding and running around showing all the victims drags the ad out and makes the situation seem more unlikely.
The target audience is teens and young adults, and the moment you play something beyond the point of being believable is the same moment they stop paying attention and discard all previous information. The maturity/invincibility levels of the 15-25 crowd are low/high. Beyond that age range things even out and eventually people grow up and take into account that they can get hurt and killed by doing something stupid.

At 15-25 a bad accident is a bumping into someone and crunching fenders. "It won't happen to me." is a mantra repeated often. It takes a major accident that threatens or takes the life of someone close to get a lot of people to lose that mantra. Videos and shock images of other accidents and dramatizations only encourage the "It won't happen to me." mindset.

Michigan is adding to the texting while driving laws they have so that you can be pulled over and ticketed if an officer sees you texting behind the wheel. A lot of people are up in arms about it thinking the police will pull you over for simply taking your eyes off the road, but I really can't imagine any officer wasting their time like that. If you are ticketed for texting while driving you get a $100 ticket the first time and $200 for every following ticket. (If you watch Oprah you may have seen the Governor signing the bill into law, effective July 1st.)

If these laws are enforced as they should be then I can see a drop in the numbers of people texting while driving. When they added a fine for not wearing a seat belt, and added belt checking zones, a lot more people started buckling up more or less to avoid the hassle of a $500 ticket. They are safer in case of an accident and law enforcement is happy. I like safe roadways and if requiring people to do something they should be doing anyhow is what it takes then so be it.

Now we need to work on removing TV screens from the dash board, and making the back seat of any child carrying car soundproof.

 

[PineappleMama]

Wow... you risk your own life by not buckling up and it's a $500 fine.

You risk others' lives by not watching the road and it's $100-200.

Gotta love the lawmakers logic on that one.

Agree that this quickly gets 'boring' but in an accident the police and ambulance (or Daddy or The Tooth Fairy) don't just magically descend and make it all better. For all the belief of "it happens to others" there's also plenty that really don't have a clue what a wreck involving injuries is like (THANK GOODNESS!!). Letting them know the misery, and that It Just Keeps Going, that they'd really be in for if they don't pay attention is important.

I'm just glad they didn't blow anything up to try and make it more 'real'.

 

[DuckLady]

This story and public service video by the parents is very effective.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/street/2010/04/30/cell-phone-law/

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I hate when people text and drive. My friend does it all the time and I find it very scary to be in the car while he's texting.

The video made me cringe though...not because of the accident, but because nobody was wearing gloves! LOL...that's the first thing I noticed...ewww!

 

[debilorrah]

If it's that important - PULL OVER!!!!