The true danger of texting and driving can no longer be ignored. Now the leading cause of automotive deaths, it trumps the traditional main concern of driving while intoxicated. The task seems so innocent to most, but the matter becomes scarier and scarier as we see how heavily invested our youth is with indulging in cell phone use. To an extent, constant interaction with electronics is seen as an addiction or a dependency. With apps and social media platforms demanding frequent updates from users, inherent value in doing so is represented in “likes†and “retweetsâ€.
We all know that simple ads from the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration can only do so much to get the message across of the dangers of texting and driving. Billboards and personal stories are constantly overlooked and/or forgotten due to it’s outdated and uninteresting approach, however Volkswagen took matters into it’s own hands by creating an ad that showcases a new approach to grabbing viewer’s attention.
SPOILER ALERT: While in a movie theatre, the audience was welcomed with a first-person clip of someone simply starting and driving a car along a road. A few seconds in, a text was sent to everyone’s phone inside the theatre via a location-based broadcaster. With that, Volkwagen effectively diverted everyone’s attention away from the screen for a brief moment (why their phones weren’t off upon entering the theatre is another issue VW can address). After everyone began paying attention to their phone instead of the screen, the driver on screen then crashes and everyone is startled by the crushing sound, then presented with a message displaying the importance of undistracted driving.
Thanks to www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/, they highlighted just how lethal it can be to multitask asking someone what they’re doing for lunch and driving a 4,000lb piece of metal can be. Here are just a few of the many statistics shared on their website:
-In 2011, at least 23% of accidents involved cell phone usage
-It takes AT LEAST 5 seconds of looking away form the road to text (at 55MPH, thats the length of driving a football field without looking up)
-Texting while driving increases the likelihood of a crash to occur 23 times
-77% of young adults are confident they can safely text and drive
-55% claim its easy to do so
Again, there are way more eye-opening statistics presented in the website that would leave mouths wide open at the severity of texting and driving, so please visit their website to learn more. Also, check out VW’s clever ad posted below thanks to MadOverAds’ YouTube channel.
