Chesapeake, VA Personal Injury Lawyer Reports: Attorneys General, Advertisers Go Viral to Stop Teen Texting and Driving | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

Two facts revealed in 2011 analyses of survey and federal car crash data should be enough to shock anyone of any age to keep the cell phone turned off and out of reach when they get behind the wheel:

  • 82 percent of drivers aged 16-24 have read a text message while driving.
  • 16 percent of all drivers younger than age 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving.

In an effort to convince high school- and college-aged drivers to stop texting and driving, the Ad Council, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and a group of state attorneys general, including Virginia’s Ken Cuccinelli, have partnered to launch and promote the “Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks.” campaign.

Here is the first YouTube video from the ant-texting coalition:

That spot and others like it, along with fact feeds, are being posted to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in hopes that the message to keeps one’s eyes and mind on the road will go viral and make driving safer for everyone.

My Virginia personal injury attorney law firm colleagues and I have written often about the dangers of texting and driving, as well as other forms of distracted driving. Too many of the cases we handle for traffic accident victims involve at-fault drivers who were simply not paying attention to red lights, pedestrians in crosswalks or sudden changes in road conditions. We support all efforts to increase drivers’ focus on the task of operating their vehicles safely so both they and everyone else with whom they share the road reach their destination alive and healthy.

EJL