A new joint effort between the United States Department of Transportation and Consumer Reports aims to make teens recognize the dangers of driving while distracted. Today's teenagers have grown up in a society where cell phones are ubiquitous and are a part of their everyday. In order to show teenage drivers that using a cell phone or engaging in other distracting behavior increases the risk of a car accident, the joint effort has started a video campaign entitled "Faces of Distracted Driving."

The distracted driving videos are created by peers who have experienced a distracted driving crash, know a family member who has been hurt by distracted driving or have lost a loved one to distracted driving. The point of the video series is to make teenagers and other young drivers realize that a crash could happen to them. Another resource offered by the joint program is guides for parents and teachers on distracted driving. The campaign will also air public service announcements on television. The "Faces of Distracted Driving" video series can be found on YouTube, and the educational guides can be found on the DOT's website distraction.gov.

The educational campaign is important because a majority of teen drivers admit to using cell phones while behind the wheel yet many young drivers do not identify texting or using the phone while driving as a dangerous activity. In 2009, almost 5,500 people were killed and nearly 500,000 people were injured in car accidents caused by distracted driving. Almost twenty percent of those accidents involved cell phones. As the functionality of cell phones increase the need for education rises.

Source: The Washington Post, "Campaign seeks to get teen drivers off their cell phones," Ashley Hacker III, 3/8/11