Teen Driving and Texting Video Raises Controversy about Graphic Content
A British Public Service Announcement is an Internet sensation, causing shock waves across the globe because of the graphic way it treats the issue of teen driving and texting.
Millions of people all over are twittering, texting and engaging in simple “Have you seen…” conversation about the four-minute teen driving video posted on YouTube
In it, three young women are in a car. When the teen driving types a message in her cell phone about a friend’s new crush, she drifts into the opposing lane and initiates a chain reaction of horrific accidents. The multi-camera shoot, of professional quality, looks shockingly authentic, from the moment of bloody impact, to a young victim’s head going through a car window, to the ensuing rescue using the Jaws of Life. The viewer witnesses, with uncomfortable detail, the foolish habit of gossiping with a gadget, the devastating effects it has on three carloads of passengers, and the guilt felt by the teen driving the killer car.
The event is a dramatization, but even so, the “Scared Straight” video is probably doing exactly as its makers intended: It is hugely successful at shocking people and getting them to talk about the issue of distracted teen driving. Social and mental health professionals often say that the first step to solving a problem is admitting there is one.
According to comments posted on social networking sites, the public is doing more than that.
Some people are expressing outrage over teen driving and texting: “Teen driving and texting don’t mix. Those that do it should have their fingers cut off.”
Some people are finding it hard to find civil terms to describe this sort of teen driving: “Sad thing is idiots do this every day because they think it will never happen to them.”
And many teen driving novices are pledging never to text and drive at the same time again: “For those of you who say it is not effective, this ad has showed me not to text. I have some friends who told me they stopped texting while driving because of this.”
Robert Sinclair of the Automobile Club of New York admitted the video was very hard-hitting, but said that he believed it should be shown in the United States. Car crashes are the number one cause of death of people from birth to 44 years, he said. In many accidents, there’s usually a teen driving. Most of those deaths are entirely preventable.
Some states have already passed laws against using cell phones while driving. The laws are not just directed at teen driving. It will be just a matter of time before there is a ban on a national level.
Studies have shown that texting and teen driving can be more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. When you’re driving drunk, sight, mobility, speech and reaction time are impaired. When there’s a teen driving and texting, the driver spends whole chunks of time with his eyes entirely off the road. It’s like driving blind.
Peter Watkins-Hughes, the writer and director of the video, is not apologetic for this piece of work on teen driving.
“Yes it is violent,” he said. “But the reality of a fatal road accident is much more violent. My position is if you’re old enough to drive, you’re old enough to be aware of the real and serious risks of teen driving.”
Amy Ingram, who played a passenger in the video, said she was grateful to be part of the teen driving video – and it wasn’t just for the acting experience: “Nothing is ever too graphic when it comes to saving people’s lives,” she said.
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