National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has kicked off National Distracted Driving Awareness Month with a 30-second ad that shows how one thoughtless time texting while driving could turn deadly. April is recognized each year as Distracted Driving Awareness Month because people continue to use their cell phones while driving. The National Safety Council urges people to stop using cell phones while driving and tell others about the dangers of cell phone distracted driving.

The ad, from The Tombras Group, shows three teens casually laughing and chatting in a car. The driver receives a text, looks at her phone for a moment then blows through a stop sign and is broadsided by a large truck. The accident is played in slow motion. A police officer addresses the camera: “Nobody likes to be stopped by the police. But if I had seen her texting while driving and given her a ticket, it might have saved her life.” 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also launched Distraction.gov, a website about texting and driving. The website gives out important statistics and informs people how they can take action against distracted driving. According to the website, "the number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes decreased from 3,360 in 2011 to 3,328 in 2012."

When I first watched this commercial, I knew it was an ad about texting and driving when it started. These types of commercials usually begin like the calm before the storm--the driver and passengers casually riding in a car before being unexpectedly crushed or thrown from the vehicle. This commercial is similar, and even puts emphasis on the accident by showing the crash in slow motion. You then see the car roll to a halt under a highway overpass. The policeman at the end of the commercial informs the audience that texting and driving will end with consequences, or even death. I think this commercial is a great reminder that April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. More importantly, I think what we should take from this ad is that it doesn’t matter what month it is, you should ALWAYS practice safe driving. I will definitely think before I pick up my cell phone while driving because I do not want my life to end up like those unsuspecting teens in this commercial.