<p>The Today Show aired (a portion of) a graphic and chilling public service announcement today that was produced and is airing in Wales. It shows three teens in a car having fun while the driver is texting a friend. They crash, of course, and the viewer witnesses the whole thing including the immediate aftermath. I think it’s worth a watch–sending a link to my teens and friends with teens.</p>
<p>add the following string to the URL of the very familiar video website /watch?v=DGE8LzRaySk</p>
<p>or go there and search “texting while driving psa”</p>
<p>CNN aired the video on Sunday. Warning if you decide to watch it - it is very graphic and very realistic. </p>
<p>D took a driver’s ed class at Sears. The kids in her class were shown some pretty graphic stuff about consequences of drunk driving (those pictures scared the life out of D!). I think this new video on dangers of texting while driving should be shown in driver’s ed classes in the US.</p>
<p>In my opinion, texting while driving should be banned. If caught, it should be grounds for automatic revocation of the driver’s license. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost been hit by someone texting while driving. It’s scary!</p>
<p>I used to assume cars weaving on the highway were driven by drunks; now I assume they’re driven by idiots texting, or playing with their IPods. I think it should have the same penalties as drunk driving, as it leads to the same results.</p>
<p>garland, I saw a show (MythBusters?) where a person driving while texting was compared to a person driving after a couple of beers in a driving test. As expected, the drinker performed poorly on the driving tests, but the texter fared much worse!</p>
<p>Texting at the steering wheel is banned in my state, but I see people do it EVERY day. I was totally shocked to see a cement truck driver texting! We need steeper penalties for this, not just a $120 fine.</p>
<p>MythBusters did indeed do an episode comparing the driving course performances of a person talking on the cell phone (TALKING, even, not texting) to the same of a person with a few beers in them.</p>
<p>The results were that the person on the cell phone was just as distracted or moreso than the person who was “buzzed”/drunk. </p>
<p>Imagine adding in the “eyes off the road” part of texting, and… well, yeah.</p>
<p>The video circulated in my Facebook network a week or two ago. Horrifying to the point of idiocy, honestly; I guess it drives home the point that an accident can happen (is even more likely to happen) while you’re texting as well as any other driving, but I am always bothered by the extremity of those demonstrations. Emphasizing the far end of how bad the accidents can be seems to be toeing the line of absurdity, a la “well, getting hit by someone else who’s drinking and driving would be the same or worse, I’ll be careful!”</p>
<p>Sad to say that my state legislature considered a bill to ban texting while driving for people under 21 (or was it 18?) and it did NOT pass. Message to kids: it’s OK to text while driving. Pray for us!!</p>
<p>I hate how everyone makes it seem like only kids text while driving. I have seen plenty of adults, both family friends and just random people driving by, furiously poudning out emails on their blackberry during their commute to work.</p>
<p>Sadly, a high school friend of mine lost 2 family members in an accident caused by a teen who was texting while driving. The accident occurred during the time that D and friends were in driver’s ed and getting permits, so I made sure they all knew about it. Hopefully some good comes out of this and these kids won’t text and drive and another tragedy will be prevented.</p>
<p>Undecided, I guess one always runs the risk that the viewer will dismiss what they see with an “it’ll never happen to me” for whatever reason (“I’ll be careful”, “what are the odds?”), but I would hope that anyone who sees this very scenario (and I do mean everyone, clock26, not just teens–point taken) would recognize its plausibility and drive accordingly. I guess I just don’t understand the mentality that dismisses the lethality of drinking and driving, but I suppose those who subscribe to it would have no problem applying the same “reasoning” to texting while driving.</p>
<p>Schmoomcgoo, it’s true. I don’t believe not showing the videos would do anyone any favors, so I suffer through them with grace and complain about them later. :)</p>
<p>I don’t really get the mentality that doing anything while driving other than driving is okay, but the history of driving seems to be a whole lot of toeing the line until someone gets hurt, then scaling it back and trying it again in smaller increments. See: reports on women applying make up, eating while driving, chatting on the cell phone, changing the radio station, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s that far of a leap from “mom can put on her make up and eat breakfast while driving” to “I can text and drive,” illogical though it may seem.</p>
<p>[The</a> Blotter | PEMCO poll: 24 percent of state motorists text while driving | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2009748368_pemco_poll_24_percent_of_state.html]The”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2009748368_pemco_poll_24_percent_of_state.html)</p>
<p>Wow. 24% of polled WA drivers admit to texting while driving.</p>
<p>I just saw this this morning, don’t use my phone in the car, don’t even drive on the expressway when it can be avoided, and I never want to drive again. O.O</p>
<p>But now that I am moving to school I can’t anyway, so hopefully I’ll be less traumatized by Christmas.</p>
<p>What’s scarier is a recent report on truckers texting while driving.</p>
<p>Mmkay I might need until Spring Break, then.</p>
<p>My dad teaches Drivers Ed and he said that he has seen studies where talking on the cell phone is the equivalent of .08 BAC. </p>
<p>Yes there are times I’ve talked on the cell phone while driving. Yes I’ve even sent and received texts while driving. But I do not do it often and normally will not do it.</p>
<p>Missouri has a law going into effect tomorrow I believe that bans texting while driving for drivers under the age of 21. Illinois has a law going into effect Jan 1 that bans it for all drivers. I think both laws are great… just how enforceable?</p>