Wendy Tepfer, Director of the Community Parent Center, says the Public Service Announcement (PSA) currently being shown in the United Kingdom regarding the consequences of text messaging while driving clearly sends the message to American teen drivers as well, that texting while driving is extremely dangerous.
The four-minute PSA, titled “COW — The Film That Will Stop You From Texting and Driving,” produced by the Gwent Police Department in South Wales, shows the character, Cassie Cowan, typing a text message while driving with three of her friends in a car. Distracted, Cassie veers into the wrong lane and hits a car head-on. A third car smashes into Cassie’s car, killing her friend. Cameras show another car of a mother, a father and a child who are also killed in the collision.
“Text messaging while driving is a growing national concern,” Ms. Tepfer said. “Teen drivers, who are younger and less experienced behind the wheel, are more likely to use handheld devices. While the content is very graphic, this PSA effectively gets the message across to American teen drivers.”
Studies have shown that, of the 40,000 vehicular deaths that happen each year, approximately 25% (10,000 deaths annually) occur as a result of distracted drivers text messaging behind the wheel. A Virginia Tech study revealed that those who text message and drive at the same time are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision than those who don’t.
Community Parent Center has offered safe teen driving programs to parents and teens in high schools throughout Nassau County for the past five years. Ms. Tepfer said that more people are using handheld devices while driving, with tragic results. Text messaging while driving is particularly dangerous because it requires the use of both hands and repeated viewing of the cell phone screen, diverting the driver’s attention from the road ahead.
“It is dangerous and reckless to think that you can drive and text message. Multi-tasking is great and teens do it all the time, but when teens are driving, their only focus should be on the road,” Ms. Tepfer said. “This announcement might be an effective way for teens to get the message because it represents what can really happen. Today’s teenagers are desensitized by the graphic video games they play, and think life is a video game. In real life, there is no restart button. When you make a dangerous choice such as texting and driving, there are deadly consequences.”
For more information about the Community Parent Center, contact 516-771-9346 or visit www.communityparentcenter.org.
