Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

“A solid and growing body of studies shows that texting, conversing on hand-held phones or even chatting hands-free … make us dangerous drivers, as likely to get into an accident as if we were legally drunk,” says a Los Angeles Times editorial published last week. Many states and municipalities have tackled the scourge of cell phone-talking drivers with legislation aimed at reducing the rising tide of cell-phone related driving accidents, but what to do with cell phone-texting drivers?

While it’s hard to drive and talk on the phone without being noticed, it’s relatively easy to conceal the act of reading and replying to text messages behind the wheel. About 25 percent of the nation’s annual 40,000 traffic fatalities may be linked to drivers who are distracted with text messaging. Worse, a Virginia Tech study recently found that texting drivers are 23 times more likely to cause a traffic accident than non-texting drivers.

As technological options are being discussed (including devices that would jam signals directly near the steering wheel), raising public awareness about the dangers of driving while texting will likely be the most effective tool to wield against the rising tide of texting-related traffic accidents.

Unfortunately, slogans and public service announcements (PSAs) take time to seep in, usually working their magic over the course of years, taking root in generations who come of age when new safety information at long last becomes common knowledge. Studies conducted by Nationwide Insurance reveal some clear generational lines when it comes to driving while texting (DWT). Nearly 40 percent of people between ages 18 and 27 say they text and drive at the same time, while only 14 percent of respondents aged 28 to 44 and 2 percent of drivers between ages 45 and 60 admitted to it.

Perhaps the strongest and most memorable effort to raise awareness about the dangers of DWT is a short film produced by the police of Gwent County in Wales, U.K. The film, entitled “COW: The Film That Will Stop You Texting and Driving,” realistically dramatizes the calamity and violence of DWT. The film centers on the character of Cassie Cowan, a young driver whose inattention to the road while texting sets off a chain of lethal events that end in tragedy. It is currently circulating throughout the world on Youtube.

“Along with our colleagues in the other emergency services, we facilitated the film’s crash scenes – because we want to stop ALL drivers, but particularly young and new ones, from causing accidents,” a statement from the Gwent Police said.

Chief Inspector John Pavett of the Gwent Police said he wants the serious message in the film to register with viewers. “I hope that after watching this film motorists will think twice before picking up their mobile phone when behind the wheel and realize that a quick reply to a text message or answering a phone call is never worth putting theirs and other people’s lives at risk.”

Viewers should be advised that the events dramatized in this video are disturbing. But that’s the idea.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under News, automobile accident, safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.