Distracted driving is the target of an emotional new public awareness campaign, which joins an increasing national and industry-wide movement to curb use of mobile devices while driving.
The Last Word" graphically illustrates the effects of using mobile phones while driving. In the video, a young boy and his mother attend the funeral of the boy's father, who was a victim of distracted driving. To drive home the message, the boy pulls out a mobile phone with a cracked screen, possibly the one used in the fatal crash, as a group surrounds the casket.The subtle, yet deeply personalized, message in this video stands as a departure from the past "shock-and-awe" campaigns that focused on the driver's perspective in these accidents and comes as legislators and industry leaders are moving to address an increasingly visible issue.
Recently, federal lawmakers and wireless carriers have made strides producing legislation and developing innovations to minimize distracted driving.
Legislators are working to strengthen state laws nationwide to mandate text while driving as a primary offense for drivers. Pennsylvania, for example, recently passed a package of bills that would make text messaging while driving a primary offense with a possible fine of up to $100, with an additional $100 fine if the offense occurs within a school zone.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has made distracted driving a central issue of his office, as well. Even celebrities like Oprah Winfrey have campaigned to keep phones out of drivers' hands.
Wireless carriers have been addressing the issue with efforts of their own. Sprint introduced an anti-distraction driving app that redirects calls to voicemail and blocks text messaging alerts while a Smartphone is in transit, while T-Mobile haslaunched a service that blocks calls when a phone is in a moving car.
A University of Utah finding showed young drivers talking on cell phones drive like the elderly.
With more nationwide campaigns similar to The Last Word aimed at showing the effects of distracted driving, efforts to ban complete mobile use phones in moving vehicles might quickly be realized, especially as these more emotionally-driven campaigns aim to connect the behavior with the human impact of its disastrous consequences.
The MDX's goal is to generate over one million digital signatures against texting and driving, similar to activist groups in the 1980s who made the same pledges to fight drinking and driving.
These collaborative efforts -- and Miami's emotionally-charged video -- call to mind "Mothers Against Drunk Drivers" campaigns of yesterday. But instead of alcohol, the modern culprit is cell phones.
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