"Put Down Ur Cell Fone" campaign raises awareness about distracted driving at UCF

With a problem as serious as distracted driving, there's no quick fix.  It takes good laws.  It takes tough enforcement.  And it takes increased awareness and personal responsibility from every driver on our nation's roadways.

Students in Orlando got the message yesterday as the University of Central Florida's Student Government Association kicked off their week-long "Put Down Ur Cell Fone" campaign to discourage texting and talking while driving.

After declaring October 25th Distracted Driving Awareness Day at UCF, members of the student government fanned out across campus to encourage students to sign a petition promising to drive responsibly and limit distractions behind the wheel.  In less than three hours, over 500 young people had taken the pledge.

Students get information and sign the "Put Down Ur Cell Fone" pledge at UCF's main campus.

UCF's campaign was spearheaded by Student Body Vice President Taylor Lochrane, who interned as a field engineer this summer at the Federal Highway Administration's Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Facility in McLean, Virginia.  He got the idea for "Put Down Ur Cell Fone" last spring during a ceremony honoring the Eternal Knights--a tribute to UCF students who had passed away during the previous year.

According to Taylor, too many of the young people lost were killed in car accidents.  And when he learned that drivers under the age of 20 were most likely to be involved in fatal distracted driving crashes, he committed to raising awareness through his position in the student government.

"It's important that this message comes to students, from students," Taylor said.  "A conversation among friends is a lot more powerful than seeing a commercial."

The UCF Student Government Association recruited support from a number of safety organizations and advocates, including the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Safety Council, the Florida Highway Patrol, and former Orlando Magic player Bo Outlaw.  Florida Senator Lee Constantine, who has co-sponsored distracted driving bills in the state legislature, talked about efforts to ban texting while driving in Florida.  And 22-year-old Nicole Hughes described how her life changed after being struck while walking by a driver who was texting and ran a red light.

For Taylor, his work to combat distracted driving won't stop when UCF's week-long push ends on Friday.  He plans to share his campaign materials and best practices with student governments across Florida.  He hopes other schools will take up the cause and raise awareness on their campuses about the dangers of cell phone use behind the wheel.

I applaud the leadership Taylor, the Student Government Association, and everyone at the University of Central Florida has shown in tackling the epidemic of distracted driving among young people.  And I hope similar campaigns find their way into more schools--not just in Florida, but across the country.  By working together, I know we'll achieve results.

Comments

[Sally Miller]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! As an avid walker, bicyclist, and, yes, sometime driver, I thank you for bringing up this issue. Using cell phones while driving is dangerous and irresponsible. Good laws and good enforcement of those laws will change how people drive and keep all of us safer.

[Erik Wood]

I think these programs help teens get the message. I also decided to do something about teen (and adult) texting and driving after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver. Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool for teens and their parents called OTTER that is a simple, affordable app for smartphones.. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.

Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app

Footnote:
- http://www.prlog.org/10871927.html

[Sharon Racusin]

This campaign validates the last five years of pestering my Vermont state legislators where we FINALLY passed a no texting law. THANK YOU! There is a long way to go to rip that damn cell phone from people's fingers.
I listened to Talk of the Nation on 10/26 and Ray LaHood heard the same indefensible arguments from the callers. I have trained my friends not to call me while they "had time" to chat with me while driving. We have to change this behavior and it can be done. I wish more was said about the cognitive studies of driving while on a cell. There are data that say it is like being drunk.
I say withhold federal transporation money for states that don't comply with a ban on cell phone use.
Keep up the good work, Ray LaHood. You are my hero.

[alex]

Using cell phones while driving is very dangerous and i hope these laws will change bad habits

[Mara Thomas]

Glad to hear it! Mr. LaHood, I really appreciated your comments on Talk of the Nation this week. I'm glad to know that those of us in favor of tougher Distracted Driving laws have such an amazing advocate. Keep up the good work!

This cause is very close to my heart and incredibly important. We can change peoples' bad habits. As you said, it will take time, good laws and enforcement. It will also take us average citizens speaking up to one another about the dangers of talking/texting while driving.

I am printing bumper stickers that say "IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU AREN'T TEXTING." I will give them away for FREE. I created a Facebook group of the same name. Find me there or via email and I'll send you a bumper sticker!

Thanks again, Mr. LaHood!!

[Thor Franklin]

I, too, listened to the TOTN interview on 10/26, and while I'm all for stopping distracted driver calls, I take issue with LaHood's call for a total ban, esp. his huffy dismissal of one caller's desire for a cell-phone training or licensing scheme ("If police can use phones safely..."). As a cab driver, I've used a cell phone interchangably with the dispatch radio during radio service disruptions; the only difference being the extra seconds waiting for the call to go through. These calls typically last seconds, not minutes, and communicate essential info: pick-ups, dropoffs, current status or problems. Additionally, the cell phone is a valuable tool for the occasional difficult address; calling a customer for specifics of his address and getting talked to his door safely- as opposed to driving erratically up and down the area looking desperately away from the road for a number, often in the dark- is 180 degrees away from the distracting social phone call. Then there's the 511 traffic info service available in many places. All these, and other sensible and safe, cell phone uses WILL CONTINUE. Any "one size fits all" cell phone driving ban will create millions of scoff-law violators and increase contempt for the rule of law, while a measured, sensible approach would serve us all.

[B.Witt]

I too heard the 10/26 Talk of the Nation and perhaps I heard a different program, but one of the answers was especially troubling. A caller made note that he observes law enforcement on cell phones all the time. You, rightfully, said it was part of the their job in regard to public safety. The caller then asked if law enforcement is trained then why can't the citizenry do as well?

"Absolutely not," was, as I recall, your response.

Hmmm...so I can be licensed to drive a vehicle. Heck, I can be licensed to own and carry a concealed firearm, but I can't be allowed to speak on the phone?

Nanny state at its finest.

[Driving School Sheffield]

People need to be educated when they take their driving lessons, this will be a start in dealing with the problems of people driving with a mobile. Their are too many incidents that need to be addressed and government bodies should have learnt their lessons by now.

[katia]

This cause is very close to my heart and incredibly important. We can change peoples' bad habits. As you said, it will take time, good laws and enforcement. It will also take us average citizens speaking up to one another about the dangers of talking/texting while driving.

[zidny]

these programs programs help teens get the message

[writing services review]

This campaign really tries to make people understand the right thing. I'm sure some of them will get the message

[Account Deleted]

We applaud Taylor Lochrane for his efforts to make the roads safer for Florida drivers. In an effort to help raise awareness to prevent distracted driving we shared his story on our own blog:
http://www.textingaccident.com/2011/02/fatal-pedestrian-accident-involves-facebook-update-atlanta-texting-accident-attorneys/