Glee Warns Drivers Against Texting

“Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks.”
 
20th Century Fox, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the State Attorneys General and Consumer Protection Agencies, and the Ad Council teamed up on a series of public service advertisements (PSAs) featuring scenes from Glee season three. The PSAs are aimed at educating young adult drivers about the dangers of texting.
 

 
Last season, Quinn (Dianna Agron) was injured in a car crash on the way to Rachel and Finn’s wedding because she took her eyes off the road to respond to a text. That scene is featured in the PSAs as it helps illustrate the horrible consequences of texting and driving. The new PSAs also point people to the Texting and Driving Prevention campaign web site, StopTextsStopWrecks.org, for tips on how to curb the dangerous behavior.
 

 
According to NHTSA, in 2010 3,000+ people were killed and an additional 416,000 were injured “due to distracted driving, which includes texting while driving.”
 
“Texting and driving is an epidemic on America’s roadways, but these crashes are preventable. Distracted driving does not just happen, it’s a choice,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The first line of defense must be personal responsibility by all drivers to put theirwireless devices away and keep their focus on the road, which is why we are working closely with our partners to build public awareness around this important safety issue.”
 
“This was a story we wanted to tell because we know the influence our show can have in starting conversations and raising awareness,” stated Glee executive producer and co-creator Ryan Murphy. “We were inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s campaign encouraging everyone to sign a pledge not to text and drive, which we all signed when we did her show a few yearsago, and we had been looking for an opportunity to tell the story of how a few seconds of carelessness could have a devastating impact on people’s lives. We’ve already heard from thousands of our fans how this story touched them, and we loved the idea of a PSA campaign to keep this important issue front and center.”
 
“Glee has always told stories that speak to young people in an incredibly entertaining way, provoking conversation and raising awareness in the process,” said Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen of Twentieth Century Fox Television. “When Ryan and the producers told us they were going to tackle this issue, we knew that beyond telling agreat, dramatic story about our characters, it could have very real impact on the lives of our viewers. We couldn’t be more proud of the work they and the cast have done on this incredible series.”
 
Source: NHTSA, 20th Century Fox