Public Service Announcements (week #13)

      Every time I get in my car and start it up this loud beeping occurs, BEEP BEEP BEEP!!! I look down at my dashboard and read the words "Buckle Seat Belt" and if I, the driver, or my passenger in the front seat, does not buckle up, my car will continue this beeping with about 30 seconds between each set of three beeps. Most of the time my friends get annoyed with this beeping, especially because my car does it within seconds of me turning the key in the ignition. I just tell them, "You better do it or she'll (yes my car is a girl) will continue beeping the entire time we are driving".  They are reluctant, but do it anyways because wearing a seat belt is the best and safest thing to do, to stop the annoying beeping. 

       For those of you without a bossy car to remind you to put on your seat belt, there are Public Service Announcements every where about wearing a seat belt or just general safety when you are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Public Service Announcements for vehicles are one of the most prominent PSA's in our society. Everywhere you look on a major highway there is a reminder to "Click it or Ticket" or "Buckle up it's the law". These PSA's are friendly reminders to help us use our seat belts.  

The Ad Council is also responsible for Seat Belt Ads that also help us remember to do this.  

     

      My high school even has a campaign for wearing seat belts called REMEMBER after one of our fellow classmates lost his life in a car accident because he was not wearing a seat belt. Our school even made glow in the dark REMEMBER bracelets so that whenever we got behind the wheel and looked down to start our car, we would REMEMBER  to wear our seat belts. This happened 11 years ago and every time I get in my car, whether I wait for the BEEP BEEP BEEP or not,  I am reminded to buckle up. Wearing your seat belt will continue to be a safety precaution that you can take before you begin driving in your car. 

      Even though wearing a seat belt is very important in the car, it is also important to put your phone away when you are behind the wheel. As technology seems to increase in our society, there seems to be more campaigns out on the road that tell us not to use our phones while driving. At least while driving on major highways in Colorado you can see multiple campaigns running on the digital highway signs telling you to basically get off of your phone and drive.

These campaigns are quite catchy with their use of "Get Your Head out of Your Apps", this statement is sure to make you look and think twice about what you are doing behind the wheel of your car. This campaign was started because last year in Colorado 480 people died on Colorado roads with 142 because of people driving under the influence. 

      But, texting and other distractions from cell phones are causing a new category of deadly dangers to emerge. Sending a text does not need to happen right away, whoever is on the other end of the text you just received can definitely wait until you are no longer operating your car for you to respond. The Ad Council explains that "texting while driving isn't multitasking, it's essentially driving blind". The Ad Council also says that, "34% of teen and young adult drivers said they never text while driving, increasing from 28% in 10 months" following the launch of their campaign. That is not a lot of people who say they are not texting and driving, which leaves a whole bunch of people who believe that sending that one text is worth their lives and possibly your life on the road. Are you one of those people who believes sending a text while driving is worth endangering your life or the lives of the people driving around you? I encourage you to think twice next time you reach for your phone while you are behind the wheel of your car.