WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT – Teens got a crash course in the dangers of texting while driving!
With texting continuing its rise in popularity, states have cracked down harder on its possible dangers. 25 states have banned texting while driving and some are going even further to prove their point. Kids are being sent through obstacle courses that are aimed to simulate the dangers and accidents that can arise if they text and drive.
“It’s pretty eye opening for the kids,” said David Teater, senior director of transportation initiatives for the National Safety Council in Itasca, Ill. “They’re very unsuccessful at texting and navigating the cones.”
According to the NSC’s research and estimate, 28 percent of crashes are caused by cell phone use, either talking or texting. Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash, while drivers who text increase that risk to 8 to 23 times, the NRC said.
“If we can reach one teen out of five teens who won’t text and drive then they could possibly save their life in the future,” said Sgt. Jeff gordon.
The Turn Off Texting campaign brought the golf cart event to five schools in Vermont this spring, and plans to get three more before the end of the school year. Check out the video below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKZXoj0SIpA&feature=player_embedded#!]
For those of you that think you can text while driving, the you are one of the few “supertaskers.”
My three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me last fall by a texting driver. It changed me but I don’t hate texting. The way I see it, that would be like hating nightfall – its coming no matter what. 72% of teens text every single day – some over 3000 times a month. The texting drivers I spoke with, including teens and truckers, all said that laws and Big Brother type software devices that "lock down" their phones would not deter them at all. They feel their civil liberties slipping away. So I built a tool called OTTER for the individual to help manage their texting on their terms.
OTTER is a comprehensive text management system for the home, office and certainly, the highway. It has GPS based Parental Control Feature for teen drivers, a GPS Mode for adult who choose to use it and an Auto reply with unlimited customized responses. We are getting 4.5 to 5 star rating from the tech community and great response from teen groups and safety organizations. We have heard of teens using OTTER to schedule their own "texting blackout periods" so they can get some homework done without feeling disconnected from their social network. If a teen uses OTTER like this, then we think they will see the benefit of OTTER's road safety features. We are not going to stop until change hits our roads and not just our laws. Please give us your feedback.
Best,
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC http://www.OTTERapp.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_yS0V21CFg