Friday, April 30, 2010
Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA), and others, are launching a campaign, “No Phone Zone,” to curb distracted driving.
The NHTSA estimates that distracted driving habits cause the death of nearly 6,000 Americans each year and injuries to 515,000 (22% of all injured people) in 2008.
“A call or text isn’t worth taking a life,” said Winfrey. “We must not allow more mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers to die before we take action against distracted driving. Let’s put a stop to it now, by joining together on April 30 for national ‘No Phone Zone Day’, and by making our cars a ‘No Phone Zone.'”
Watch Oprah’s Putting Distracted Drivers to the Test Video
Does text messaging effect your driving skills? Meet three people who believe they can text while driving without putting themselves or others in danger. We put them to test. Watch as they complete an autobahn driving test to measure their driving skills while they are text messaging.’
Read “Dnt Txt N Drv,” Oprah Winfrey’s OpEd in the New York Times, April 24, 2010.