Not Your Typical PSA
A British PSA illustrating the ramifications of texting while driving has been making waves not in Wales where it was produced, but in the US via YouTube and major news outlets. This isn’t your average “this-is-your-brain-on-drugs” PSA. Instead it’s a long (over four minutes) and graphic dramatization of what happens when a teenage girl decides to text message while driving.
We know that people respond much better to stories than they do to statistics. This particular story revolves around a group of happy-go-lucky teenage girls unaware that their actions are about to destroy many lives. Between the blood, disturbing images of screaming passengers, and a possibly dead baby, there’s enough to make anyone squeamish. Since the PSA is too graphic for the US censors, you won’t be seeing anything like it on our TV screens (even YouTube insists viewers verify their age before viewing the video), but you have to wonder how effective it would be.
Personally the PSA doesn’t seem all that shocking. Perhaps I’m desensitized to violence on TV or maybe it’s no different than the totaled car parked in front of my high school before the prom —a good-in-theory, bad execution kind of thing. Both the totaled car and this PSA seem too hypothetical and cheesy. According to a recent poll, however, I might be alone— the majority of Americans feel the PSA is both effective and necessary viewing for US audiences.
See it for yourself here (remember, it’s 18 and over only!).
Peter said on September 06, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hmmm, my prior comment attempt somehow got lost in moderation, so I’ll try again.
It is absolutely shameful on You Tube’s part to put the age restriction on this video. 16- and 17-year-olds might actually be the prime target of the no-texting campaign. There is no legal reason for the age restriction, it’s not like a TV broadcaster that might face FCC fines for airing an “indecent” show before 10 pm. About the only good thing is that there’s no meaningful way for You Tube to enforce age restrictions.
As for the video itself, it’s a remarkably well done piece considering that a local police department made it on a shoestring budget. One bit of criticism I have is that the consequences of a real-life crash of the severity shown would have been far less. The silver car in which the parents and (presumably) the infant died has relatively minor damage, in fact it might very well be driveable. Even so, given the nature of the video these are minor nitpicks.
Lastly, I don’t know whether it was intentional or not, but the last thing see on the girl’s phone screen immediately before impact is the number of her insurance company.
Ilan Kelman said on September 12, 2009 at 1:41 am
The US Censors and YouTube are demonstrating how silly they can be. The full video can currently be seen directly at http://www.gwent.police.uk/leadnews.php?a=2172 Congratulations to all who have been involved in producing and publicising the video.
Ilan Kelman said on September 30, 2009 at 7:43 am
Now see also http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_distracted_driving
Govt: Nearly 6,000 deaths from driver distraction
By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press
30 September 2009
WASHINGTON – Opening a government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration reported Wednesday that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a striking indication of the dangers of using mobile devices behind the wheel.
The Transportation Department was bringing together experts over two days for what it’s calling a “distracted driving summit” to take a hard look at the highway hazards caused by drivers talking on cell phones or texting from behind the wheel. Secretary Ray LaHood was expected to offer recommendations Thursday that could lead to new restrictions on using the devices while driving.
Ultimately, LaHood said, he wanted the meeting to set “the stage for finding ways to eliminate texting while driving.”
[The full article is on the website given above.]
michael arthur said on January 31, 2010 at 7:22 am
This type of campaign must be shown mostly to teenagers to prevent them from any accident.
kaayess said on April 09, 2010 at 12:30 pm
OMG! This is really very shocking! I always make it a point to keep my cellphones away while driving. And, secondly this is one is for all those text-addicted teens, so You Tube must reconsider its age restriction policy.
—Watch cool comedy movies here!
crab smith said on April 10, 2010 at 5:07 pm
usage of cell phones during driving should be banned in all countries
fromipad
church of christ said on April 20, 2010 at 8:09 am
This should be shown to teenagers! They need to look at these things in order to rectify themselves.