This is NOT a video about magic...but I guarentee that your life will NEVER be the same after you've watched it. I know mine has been changed forever...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGE8LzRaySk

This is a subject that has chapped my *** for long time. Anyone that gets caught texting while driving should lose their driving privileges for a year. I can see this becoming a bigger problem than drunk driving.

Nick

Watched 1/3rd of it then shut it down.

Way too gross for my taste. But if it does manage to get the message through some people, its ok.

As A Firefighter this is all real.... I have seen this too many times, If this video saves one persons life it is worth posting here at the Café... Thank you for posting

Fabio,

I wish you'd go back and watch the entire PSA.

Until I saw this video, I was an offender. I would "text or email" while I was driving. Not often, but occassionally. NEVER AGAIN! What did it for me, was the little girl wanting her Mommy and Daddy to "wake up" and the close up of the baby who was "unresponsive!"

I have a 2.5 year old little girl. I saw her in that video and it broke my heart.

What's sad about all this is my guess is everyone in that video died BUT the girl who was texting!

Yea, I know about the risks of texting, drinking and / or doing anything that'd distract the driver. A cousin of mine almost died on a car crash because of such irresponsibility about a year ago.

I'm sure a shocking PSA like that is heavily effective, but I'm just not in the mood for so much reality right now.

PS:
Watched the entire piece, I think it does get the facts through. I guess it is pretty worth, then.

Texting while driving is dangerous and irresponsible. However, the ad itself is histrionic and condescending. A study on the effectiveness of drunk-driving PSAs (as texting related accidents are a newly acknowledged phenomenon) conducted by the University of Regina concluded,

"Canada's advertising campaigns aimed at reducing drunk driving are more effective than those in some other English-speaking countries."

A dean of the University notes, "In Canada, we're very good at giving people some courses of action and giving them encouragement that they can actually carry that out," said Anne Lavack, dean of the school's faculty of business. "We found that in other countries, like Australia for example, they're very good at arousing fear and telling people how serious it is, but they don't focus on giving them alternatives for action."

In other words fear tactics in and of themselves are not effective. A cinematic depiction of violence may have a visceral impact but to be truly lasting and successful the viewer should be informed and empowered. As I understand it that short clip is actually part of a 30 minute program. Taking it out of context diminishes the overall impact.

-Don

"A cinematic depiction of violence may have a visceral impact but to be truly lasting and successful the viewer should be informed and empowered"

Is this not true of all learning -- even magic?