Over the years, one thing has remained constant: people are paying less and less attention to what they are doing while driving. When I was in 9th grade, a number of students were involved in car accidents when their bikes were hit by drivers on mobile phones. Now these arent the phones we have today, but the big bricks of days gone bye. In the twenty plus years that have passed, the dangers have gotten worse and worse, leading several cities, states, and countries to ban the use of mobile phones while driving. Last week, a friend of mine shared a video link to new UK PSA detailing the dangers of texting while driving. The ad is awesome because it is very graphic. It shows three young women on the highway the driver sending an sms. Then she crosses the center line and creates a head-on collision. Another car rear-ends her and sends the car spinning. One of the teenagers is dead. The parents in another car are gone as well, leaving their child asking rescuers, Why wont mommy and daddy wake up? Its a powerful ad that shows the true dangers of diverting your attention from the road. The ad is shot on a huge budget, so everything, and I mean everything, looks realistic. I mean, lets face it if youre going to send a text message while driving, you have to take your eyes away from the road. Then you have to look at the keys and press them in order. Its a huge drain on your cognitive power and can only lead to a disastrous outcome. If youve ever texted while driving, then count …
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Mobile Phones
Posted on 24 April 2010.
25 Responses to “Mobile Phones”
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my friend met an accident too, but she was able to make phone calls to get some help even she runs out of credit using this 0800-mumdad service! it surely saved her life!
Dude I am with you. Last Sunday I almost got knocked off my Harley Road King by a lady talking on her cell phone. I did get a chance to speak to her (yes, it was very civil). She was in tears by the time I was done. She was very contrite. Maybe I saved a bro’s life. Thanks for the vid.
i agree
Nice video. I really enjoyed watching it. I am running a marketing campaign to start a large auto detailing chain corporation. Let me know what you think by checking out my channel. Thanks
-Politowic
utah number one
I witnessed an accident while someone was smoking, drinking coffee AND talking on the cell phone. They drove through a red light that had already been red for a minute – they never noticed!!! What did people do before cell phones and texting? Instant gratification is the problem with most!! I commend Utah – people don’t take the laws seriously because they’re still doing it. Phones should have a special feature in them, where they automatically shut off when speeds are greater than 15 mph!!
The PSA is totally sobering… Texting while driving is obviously a stupid thing to do. Meanwhile, I don’t see a problem with using a phone while driving as long as it’s a hands-off type of device and the driver’s hands and eyes are not distracted from the act of driving. It’s like talking to someone who’s sitting in the back seat. I never did understand texting using a phone…
I don’t have an opinion on how much punishment by law is appropriate, though.
I think saying hooray to Utah is enough.
I heard on the radio that it is against the law to use a phone in school zones now…I think it should be for all driving. I use my speaker phone if I just have to talk on the phone. It seems that when I am driving and someone is driving badly 9 times out of 10 they are on the phone. And texting…that is just wrong. I say throw the book at them if they are doing that while driving!
That stuff never gets old. LOL. Which takes me back to my very first comment.
Yeah yeah, it’s a mans world. Take it from someone who was raised in a family of feminists. Women can not drive.
The topic was driving while distracted, in this case by texting.. Other things distract, including cell phones, alcohol, mood, eating, iPods, etc. Some of these behaviors are more prevalent in males and some in females, but both genders engage in unsafe behaviors. The solution is not to channel your inner grandfather and bemoan the fact that women drive – because you are ignoring half the problem.
Yeah, but the topic at hand isn’t drunk driving, road rage, drug induced impairment, etc. It’s texting while driving. I was just in the US last week. You wouldn’t believe how many women I saw looking down at their phones while driving. I was in awe.
Great video & i totally agree with your message.
I live in the UK & sometimes it takes a graphic PSA to actually get the message across.
As others have said. We have laws in the UK outlawing the use of mobile/cell phones whilst driving. But, i still see people doing it every day of the week.
I like the idea of equating this to drink driving
Hi Curt! This boggles my mind too. I see people on cell phones sitting right in FRONT of our local precinct. Nobody ever gets a ticket. It is infuriating. Why pass a law and not enforce it?
I think the term “multitasking” is generating a negative connotation. It seems as though the more one “multitasks”, the less well each individual task is completed. Pure concentration is vital when doing simple tasks (like driving). distractions are growing HUGELY. GREAT TOPIC! I will mull over this more during the day! Thanks
Hiya…I’m attaching my 3rd video…one of the reasons I screen named grumpy!
I love how even after it’s been a law NOT to use cells in any way while driving here in CA, I still constantly see people talking on them AND even texting.
“Willfull” is a good term. Good for Utah!
I’ve never seen a woman texting while driving either, but then again you and I are only two people and that leaves a lot of room for error in our observations. I could as easily say, “if men were banned from driving there would be a lot less accidents from drunk driving (or road rage, or drug-induced impairment)”. This would be true but banning a gender from driving isn’t the solution. Unless, of course, your goal isn’t safety but misogyny.
Yeah yeah, truth is though, I have never seen a man text messaging while driving.
Somehow I keep expecting that attitudes like yours would disappear before the light of fact and information, but they don’t. This shows the amazing staying power of myth and ignorance.
I think that if women were banned from driving, you would see a lot less instances like this one.
Blah, people are going to drive and text anyway. Further proof that we are all fd in the longrun. Part of human nature when overindulged carelessly in conveniences at your fingertips.
I think more states need to do what Utah is doing.
I find it that more people are concerned over the message they receive than paying attention to the road and putting lives a stake.
I find texting & talking while driving is like like playing Russian roulette with a grenade launcher, you won’t just kill your self but everyone around you.
I find it odd that it was Utah to have the law first and not California. That just shows that they are picking up with the times.
It just became Illegal to drive while talking and/or texting in July here in Hawaii.
I hope the incentive works,
because i have almost been hit for that very reason too many times to count.
KEEP EYES ON ROAD please