The latest public service announcement warning against distracted driving has an interesting twist: it presupposes that people know about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel. Instead, it illustrates the emotional toll for those who are affected by an accident caused by a person texting or talking on a phone.
The video, sponsored by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, a Florida agency financed by roadway tolls, depicts a mother driving a car, her son in the back seat. Both are impeccably dressed.
Quickly it becomes clear the pair are pulling up to a funeral. The boy helps carry the casket. It is lowered into the ground. A clergy member begins a eulogy. Amid the graveside grief, the boy pulls out a phone and decamps to the side. The screen of the phone is severely cracked. Still, the boy uses the phone to pull up a video that shows him playing with his father.
It’s clear that the phone survived the accident but the father did not. Also clear is the message that the father died in an accident involving distracted driving, though it’s not made plain whether the father or another driver was at fault.
The somber video, while long at more than three minutes, is different from some of the shock-and-awe campaigns against distracted driving that show bloody accidents. Also interesting, and a bit unusual about the video, is that it works even though the message is subtle, even unstated.
This suggests the meter has moved a bit on perceptions on this issue. Covering distracted driving the last few years, I’ve been told many times by safety advocates that awareness of big safety issues (whether use of seat belts, drunk driving or texting behind the wheel) takes time to infiltrate society. I was struck watching this video, which is largely without spoken words, that some awareness on this issue is becoming even more commonplace than it was a few years ago.