Driven to distraction: New ad warns against texting while driving

A hard-hitting new campaign is targeting drivers who text behind the wheel.

Launched by the AA Charitable Trust, the not-for-profit arm of the AA, the ad sets out to show just how catastrophic the effects of driving and texting can be.

The arresting campaign comes weeks after a lorry driver was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a mother and three children while distracted by his phone.

Tracy Houghton, 45, died with her sons Ethan, 13, and Joshua, 11, and her partner’s daughter Aimee Goldsmith, 11, when Tomasz Kroker crashed into her stationary car while scrolling through music.

The Government intends to increase the penalties for using a mobile at the wheel from three penalty points to six, plus a £200 fine (currently just £100) – but the AA Trust thinks a shift in behaviour is just as important.

According to AA research, more than two million car passengers would do nothing if their driver used a hand-held phone whilst driving – despite evidence that the results of doing so can be fatal.

Latest Department for Transport figures show a 35 per cent increase in fatalities on built-up roads between April and June compared to the same period a year ago.

Edmund King OBE, AA Trust director said: “The hike in fatalities on built-up roads by more than a third, is staggering and may be due to driver inattention from excessive use of mobile phones at the wheel.”

Emmeline Kellie, who wrote, produced and starred in the film was compelled to do so after her friends’ bad driving habits began to worry her. The film also features young London based musician Luke Pickett.

Edmund King added: “Despite horrific and tragic deaths caused by drivers distracted by phones, the problem is still rife. Our campaign will be targeted to change attitudes but it must be supported by tougher penalties and more cops in cars.”