Recently there has been a lot of publicity around the issue of distracted driving. This awareness, however, has not seemed to translate to a change in driver behavior. Teen drivers in particular continue to engage in behaviors like texting while driving. The result is a heightened risk of serious car accidents.

A new South Carolina distracted driving campaign, called W8 2 Txt, aims to change that. The campaign is the result of a partnership between the South Carolina Highway Patrol, local law enforcement agencies, Subway restaurant and state high schools.

The program hopes to prevent distracted driving in South Carolina by bringing awareness of the issue to high school students and encouraging them to sign a pledge not to text while driving. The program kicked off at Summerville High School last Wednesday.

One state trooper attempted to drive home the dangers of distracted driving to teens by saying, "You may think you're only looking away for a second or two, but consider this: texting for five seconds at 55 miles per hour is like driving the length of a football field blind."

Statistics also demonstrate the gravity of the problem. Although those under 24 represent a small percentage of the driving population, they account for the largest percentage of motorists killed in auto accidents. In 2011, 165 South Carolina drivers in that age group were killed in car accidents. One study showed that those who text while driving are over 20 times more likely to be involved in a collision.

Hopefully the W8 2 Txt program will remind teens and others to think about the potentially fatal consequences that can happen when they want to save a few seconds by texting while driving.

Source: The Summerville Journal Scene, "W8 2 Txt campaign kicks off at SHS," Jim Tatum, Jan. 26, 2012