Road safety studies have shown that texting while driving has become the leading cause of accidents, prompting countries to institute strict laws coupled with powerful public service announcements to drum the massage home: being distracted by your mobile device for just half a second while driving can place you and others around you in mortal danger.
No message is THAT important
The studies have likened the distraction of texting to driving while intoxicated. Being under the influence means that your reflexes are severely impaired; texting while driving similarly slows down your reaction time in the event of losing control of your vehicle or of some hazard appearing in front of you.
Some people who have been in texting-related accidents insist that they were only looking down for a moment, or that they had to send some vital message to a colleague or loved one.
Watch another terrifying PSA: 'I'm going too fast!' But what about his kid?
In most countries it is a criminal offence to text while driving, but common sense would suggest that you pull over and send your message while off the roadway. Even texting while at the traffic light or stop street can be dangerous to other road users.
Teen texters
Teens are particularly at risk for dangerous texting habits as they tend to be super-users of online technology. If your teen is a new driver, they won’t have the defensive driving skills to avoid an accident.
As in any accident situation, it’s not always the culprit whose poor driving caused the accident who is injured, but more often it is an innocent fellow road-user who is injured or killed.
This chilling Australian road safety PSA demonstrates the dangers of texting while driving. Watch and wince (and hopefully alter your habits if you have been a texting driver).
Don’t text and drive PSA via YouTube/Tony Gentry
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Do you practise safe texting?
