Texting while driving
Briefly describe the overall goal of your PSA: Texting while driving
Your overall goal should either involve bringing awareness to an issue or promoting a change in behavior.
Briefly describe the target audience for your PSA.
Your audience should guide the creation of your PSA. Think about who they are (age, interests, opinions, influences, etc.), what they expect, what they know and understand, what they don’t know and understand, and how to convince them.
Write a paragraph that explains and details the current situation regarding your topic. Include at least 1 fact from a source.
Write a paragraph that explains why it is important for people to know about this topic. Include at least 1 fact from a source.
Project Requirements
o Topic appropriate for a PSA
o PSA goal
o PSA specified audience
o Summary of the current situation of your topic for your PSA
o Explanation of validity of solution or behavior promoted in PSA
o Explanation of why people need to understand the issue
o List of sources
o List of facts
o PSA video
Sample Solution
The topic of my PSA is texting while driving. The overall goal is to bring awareness and promote a change in behavior to help reduce the number of vehicular fatalities due to distracted driving. The target audience for my PSA are drivers between the ages of 16-24 who are most likely to engage in distracted driving behaviors such as texting while behind the wheel.
Currently, there are over 3,000 annual roadway fatalities caused by distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, sixteen percent of all fatal collisions involve some form of driver distraction including using a phone or other electronic device for sending texts or emails, talking on their phones, eating and drinking, reading maps and more (NHTSA). Additionally, according to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety research from 2019 found that drivers who use their phones while operating motor vehicles increase their risk for crash involvement by roughly three times (AAA).
It is important for people know about this topic because not only does it put lives at risk but it is also illegal in many states across America with individuals facing fines and/or jail time if caught breaking these laws. Furthermore educating and encouraging drivers about ways they can stay safe on roads like putting away devices when behind the wheel will help create safer roads for everyone which should be one of our top priorities as citizens.
Sources:
NHTSA - Distracted Driving 2018 Report https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812789
AAA Foundation – A Comparison Of Cell Phone Related Crash Risk Across Levels Of Driver Experience https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CellPhone_Risk_Comparison20190716_rev1p0v2fnlRLS-.pdf