Is PSA on texting and driving too shocking?

It has already been discussed on NBC's "Today Show."

It has apparently enjoyed more than 1 million views on YouTube. And it has already aroused cries that it is too graphic, too shocking, too much to watch.

But the police department of Gwent, Wales, felt it had to do something to highlight the realities of texting and driving, so together with filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes, it made a public service announcement.

The film shows a teenage girl driving some friends in her car. Engrossed in her texting, she is involved first in one crash before her car is then broadsided by another.

You have seen far worse in movies and with far less good intent. It can only go a small way to making teenagers and, frankly, half the alleged adults I've seen driving in California, consider the potential consequences of their self-involved habits.

But if it even makes one person think twice, or even once, about the consequences, then any amount of graphic content is to be applauded. There is surely nothing gratuitous about trying to save a life.

[jaguar717]

I'm sure we'll be hearing about people suing on behalf of their offended little princesses and then they'll withdraw it and apologize profusely.

Note that texting is the latest boogieman, not the ditz yapping with her friends. The awful drivers I see every day are just as bad with or without a phone, and you can also see plenty of people driving just fine while multitasking. I guess it would be too offensive to actually target bad (and illegal) drivers.

The British certainly have a great history of blaming the tool instead of its user. Wonder how those knife bans are doing, as all the stabbings have their violent crime rate higher than South Africa...

[gwailo247]

I really hope one of these great multitaskers doesn't run a red light and t-bone you. When you text you take your eyes off the road. Which means you have ZERO awareness of what is going on the road around you.

"Multitasking" makes you a bad driver by definition, no matter how well you, er "other people" think they drive while doing so.

[jaguar717]

You must be talking to the iphone crowd--if your phone has buttons, you can operate it while looking off the road less than you do to fiddle with the stereo. Myself, I drive stick so my right hand leaves the wheel constantly to *change gears*.

But I'm sure you're equally outraged about car stereos, GPS, and especially ipods, since each of those has you looking away from the road longer.

My point isn't that idiots don't kill people while distracted, my point is that running from the last hot-button outrage to whatever the latest "crisis" is is asinine. Every single day I dodge idiots distracted by things the Perpetually Offended don't seem to take issue with (or even nothing at all). If and when I do get t-boned, odds are it'll be a girl reaching for her purse or someone who's never stepped foot in a dmv.

Texting is the new talking is the new .08 is the new trans fat is the new secondhand smoke is the new CFCs.

[tmusgrove]

As for "the British..blaming the tool instead of its user", please note that this PSA comes from the Welsh, not the British. The Scots, Irish, and Welsh are each different from the Brits in many respects, including culturally, politically, and otherwise.

I largely agree with your take, except I think you got it backwards, as to the mentality of those who produced the spot -- I think this spot shows that the Welsh authorities want to use deterrence and a passionate message, rather than to think that they can merely legislate their way out of the problem.

[Dalkorian]

jaguar717, do you realize your posts read like "I don't have to be careful on the road because there are worse drivers than me out there"? Maybe someone should bash this idea into your thick dense skull - YOU ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT.

You aren't some special person who deserves or has the right to ... well, virtually anything outside of the usual "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Our parents did fine throughout their lives without having to take or make any phone calls or text while behind the wheel. The only reason you feel you can't do the same is that idiotic sense of entitlement you carry around. Someday it just might kill you, I can only hope you don't take anyone out with you.

[NikEst]

When I change the radio while driving, it takes a couple quick glances, then I'm good for a while. To text (even on phones with buttons), studies find you'll be looking at the road something like 3 seconds out of 15 seconds. I don't know about you, but missing 12 seconds of the road while actually moving forward means you've missed over 1,000 feet of road on the highway and you probably also missed the accident or back up happening in front of you.

I also know that about 9 out of 10 of the people who cannot maintain their speed are on their phone. Most of the other 1 out of 10 are just old. It's true that some people just suck at driving, but most people suck when they aren't paying attention. Phones (talking or texting) prevent you from paying attention. It's not the new .08 or CFCs, it's an actual problem, just like drunk driving and CFCs (funny, no more CFCs and the ozone layer is getting better, it's almost like fixing the cause fixes the outcome).

[yoruff]

Last I knew if you really know how to drive stick shift you never have to take your eyes of the road to shift,
where as no matter how "good" you get at texting you still need to look at your cell phone to text at least a little. so the comparison between the two make no sense what so ever. it not the taking one hand of the wheel that is the issue its taking your eyes of the road, and yes i blame the idiot who's texting while driving not the phone.

[iff2mastamatt]

You must not live in an urban area such as NYC like myself, because awareness is key to surviving.. ugh, I mean driving in NYC. Not paying attention for 2 seconds can get you in an accident, especially with all the traffic. You think you can text by "feeling" the buttons? Ha, it would take you forever to do it on a number pad phone, but even on a full QWERTY phone like my E71 is a challenge. You don't need to be texting or calling every second of the day, just wait until you get to your destination or pull over to respond.

[gabeheim]

Here's an interesting read, "Unskilled and Unaware of It". I think it describes at least one driver here. Sadly, it seems the worst drivers think they're the best. "Four beers? I can hold my liquor, those other idiots that get DUI's can't". "Texting while driving? I can do it, because I am one 1337 (stupid mother******) mµ£7174$|{3r wh00 Pwn5 73x7!". (Yes, they are as dumb as the leet I just wrote...)

Jag, i hope you get busted and fined a s***load before you kill someone. If you text while driving, you are a terrible driver by definition. (Distracted driver) If you decide to screw around with your radio buttons, then you are again a terrible driver by definition. And quit blasting .08. Stupid idiots that think they can drive while drunk are the reason a number of innocent folks are in the grave.

[mikehunnel]

A year or so ago I saw a study that talked about people multi-tasking. Males are bad; females are better, but not that much (it has something to do with learned behavior, not so much 'hard-wired'). Bottom line is if you concentrate on one thing, you can give it 100% of your attention; if you do two things, each might get 40%, but there is a very noticable loss in each transition... and if you try to do three or more, the 'loss in transition' takes over.

Almost 15 years ago I was driving on a 4 lane city street at about 35-40 mph when I was passed by a woman driving a car with a standard transmission, smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee and putting on makeup. I stayed with her for a second (verifying that I actually saw it all), then took a fast right turn - I didn't want to stay on the road with her. Looking back, I guess she could have had a novel and a sandwich, with a poodle in her lap... and now we could add a cell phone.

Where do I donate for the next PSA?

[firehire]

I think this is great. If this is what it takes for some of the irresponsible people to stop texting or talking on their cellphones while driving. It's all about accountability people. Please be responsible for your own actions. They need to make this PSA in California.

[mrcjacobs]

I agree with you 100%.

[ausernamenoonehaschosen]

My thoughts as well.

[Firehazel]

same here.

[griffiw]

Do I think this video is graphic? Yes. Do I think it's gratuitous? Not at all. Too many people are incredibly distracted by their cell phones while they're driving. Tennessee (where I live) recently passed a law to ban texting while driving, which is a great first step. But I think it's videos like this one that make drivers more aware of what they're risking when they become distracted by their phone.

[jbrandtx]

There is nothing that could possibly be too graphic to illustrate the dangers of driving-while-wrapped-up-in-something-else. The TV commercials that show the guy in the car full of wine or beer - and when he rolls his window down it all spills out - are just making a big joke of it. The truth - PEOPLE DIE WHEN YOU SCREW AROUND, *******! - must be told.

[Dalkorian]

Funny you should mention that, those commercials have bothered me since the first time I saw them for that very reason. Instead of being pulled over and asked "have you been drinking, sir?", those commercials should have shown those people getting into an auto accident and the cop cleaning up the mess afterward. Seeing some idiots skull splattered across a shattered windshield would have made a statement and GASP - might have forced some parents to have frank discussions with their children BEFORE the kids start partying with their friends and driving home afterward. It also would have been less empowering, I'd imagine most drunks would lie to the cop when asked if they've been drinking in part because they don't want to be arrested. Maybe they could have shown one of the drunks failing a field sobriety test, that's usually pretty entertaining.

[DrMicro]

plus ca change plus c'est le meme chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same). While attempting to shock people into teaching their kids the dangers of texting while driving is a new twist, the use of shock video for educational and awareness purposes goes way back to the 16mm "Red Asphalt" Driver's Ed films I remember from High School in the mid 60's.

@firehire: I concur, and not just California, either... all states and territories would benefit.

[TinyIoda]

Ive read about a dozen of your articles (maybe a few dozen).... and this the first that you and I completely agree upon!

"But if it even makes one person think twice, or even once, about the consequences, then any amount of graphic content is to be applauded. There is surely nothing gratuitous about trying to save a life. "

Im glad you said it... and I will happily repeat it to as many people as I can!

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

@Tinyloda,

I am grateful that you are read 'maybe a few dozen". I don't even agree with myself sometimes.

Thank you for commenting.

Chris

[xenotx]

um..I think the point of this video is to show how unsafe the Ford Ka is. well...that's what I took from this video anyway

[ledhead1962]

um..I think the point of this comment is to show that there is something denser then lead. well...that's what I took from this comment anyway

[racindude]

Is it graphic? Yes it is graphic, but it really gets a point out. I have seen to many close calls by people either talking on cell phones, or even worst lately texting. Being a motorcycle rider makes me even more vulnerable to these morons. Sometimes you need this kind of video to make some people wake up, hopefully that will happen. I hope that they keep airing it.

[38654ob]

We call motorcycle drivers "organ donors" because they drive so carelessly...

I agree that this video should be shown throughout the US. Texting, and especially distracted teenage drivers is very dangerous for everyone, not just the teens.

[TyDiz]

@38654ob
The majority of motorcycle drivers ride very responsibly and have every right to be on the road...Its usually moron drivers who switch lanes without looking, plowing over whatever is hiding in their blind spot.

[8301]

I don't see how it's any worse than the average contemporary "horror" movie. But if they're going to make a PSA on texting while driving, they need to make a million more on the many other things that people do that impairs their ability to drive.

[MyRightEye]

Very good... I am damn tired of living in a university town (Boulder, CO), riding a motorcycle with all these girls driving their honking SUVs bought by daddy while texting and talking on the phone. It kills people. We don't need a law, they do not help, we need people to be bloody responsible and care enough about the lives of those around them. Stop being so selfish that you'll put another's life on the line just so you can gossip about your friend's bf. Put the phone down and DRIVE.

[kc6hur]

Most excellent video. I spent 3 years as an EMT on a rescue squad and saw my share of car wrecks. Quite realistic. If people can't face the consequences, then they should not do the act.

[ledhead1962]

Here, here! How misplaced is worrying about someone being traumatized by a video clip rather then the trauma inflicted on multiple peoples bodies and minds by the extremely dangerous texting while driving set. Anyone defending this obviously boneheaded use of tech needs to ride with aN EMT response unit to see the results in real life. I swear that if there was someone who said pointing a loaded gun at your head was dangerous there would be some moron who would take the opposite stance. It is so obvious it's, well, duh obvious!

[CrazyPieGuy]

I'm glad this video is being made. I'm currently in highschool and I see multiple people driving like this on the way to school, I've seen people drive in two lanes for a minute or two and once I pass them later i see them texting away. If drivers Ed in highschool was required to watch a video like this I think it would be very benificial. I think nothing is too graphical if it saves a life.

Amen. This PSA reminds me of the gore-fest films we were forced to watch about stupid kids trying to beat trains over RR crossings, back in the late 60s/early 70s. Those films scared the *ahem!* out of me. Some education policy wonk in a No Child Left Behind dragnet probably decided they were too much for the little kiddums (who had been raised on slasher films, mind you) and nixed them. About darned time they were returned to the market.

[38654ob]

I remember one graphic film shown during driver ed (mid-70's) that showed a woman sneezing and then crashing head on into another car. Every time I feel a sneeze coming on while driving I think about that film, it may have saved my life more than once.

[fizzyorr]

As a UK ambulance service employee I've seen this sort of thing happen for real. It's meant to upset you and that's what makes it effective. Just don't do it!

[mkuk71]

@ tmusgrove

Actually, you seem to have mistaken British for English. The Welsh and Scottish are as much British as the English - all being part of Great Britain - and therefore,

The Irish, I concede, are the odd-man out being Irish...

So while I disagree with jaguar717's point, his terminology was in fact correct.

Hope that helps, :)

[Bynbrynman]

I'm afraid that tmusgrove has made an all too common error in confusing Brits and English; England is artificially British only since 1707, when it needed a new name for the union between itself and the Scots. In actual fact the only Brits left on the Island are the Welsh & Cornish, and of course we have the continental Brits in Brittany. The Brits are the Brittonic Celts and not the Anglo-Saxons. Everyone in the world seems to making this mistake.

[Open Outlet]

This is exactly what needs to be shown to teens. It is so very difficult to overcome the feeling of invincibility that comes with adolescence, but the realistic imagery of this video hopefully will instill some sense of cause and effect. I am glad to hear that it is being shown on American TV as well. Our PSAs of the past 20+ years have been so ineffective for the simple fact that we have tried tactic after tactic that, despite good intentions, lacked the ability to capture the attention of our teens beyond a short chuckle or a memorable slogan. It is a great challenge to create a PSA that isn't quickly drowned in teenage sarcasm and skepticism. We truly do have double standards. If this same scenario was the opening scene of CSI, there would be no mention that it is too graphic. Laws can only do so much, sadly this is a problem that is extremely difficult to enforce. After all, to prove someone is texting you really have to examine phone records. I hope this is the beginning of a trend and we address more social problems in a similar manner. Good job Britain.

[wminis]

The video shows exactly how dangerous it is to text wile driving , and also they should show some thing like this for situations where people start talking over the phone while driving (with out hands free or bluetooth) .
This is not only dangerous for the person doing the texting , but also for the other people. They have to suffer for no mistake of their own.
Authorities in all states in US and other countries should make it illegal to text or talk(with out hands free or bluetooth) while driving .

[SiliconValleyCommuter]

When I first saw this video, I was amazed at the details they captured and how realistic it was. It was a great production and sincerely hope that it spreads to a bigger audience to raise awareness of the dangers of "multi-tasking" while driving.
I've been unfortunate to experience 2 incidents myself. While driving on a freeway, I noticed a middle aged woman chatting away on her phone (this was AFTER the handsfree law took effect), and wondered to myself "why do some people completely ignore it?". She passed by me while straddling 2 lanes for about 30 seconds and I didn't think about her again as she zoomed past into the distance. about 6 miles down the freeway, I see a 2 car collision. Both cars pretty much a write off. One of the cars was the woman I just saw talking on her phone.

To another comment's point, it's not just phones. I was doing about 65mph on the freeway when I hit bumper to bumper traffic and came to a dead stop. I happened to look in my rear view mirror, and see an SUV rapidly approaching me, the driver seemed to be looking/fiddling with his stereo. I could see he had no clue that the traffic had come to a standstill. He kept on going, only realizing the traffic about 15 feet away from my car (my guess would be he was still doing about 65 mph as I was before seeing the traffic). I unfortunately was boxed in and could not do anything to avoid being hit and braced for impact. Sure enough, he slammed his brakes way too late and the rest is history. I broke my collar bone from the impact.

[shawnshine]

FFS