10 Powerful "Shock" Ads That Confront Dangerous Driving
The most difficult part of confronting a dangerous driver (or acknowledging it in yourself) is getting them to see the consequences of their actions. In reality, most people are able to drive slightly intoxicated, use a cell phone while driving, and speed over and over again until the moment they no longer can.
That's the tragic point about dangerous driving -- you have no control over when that moment will strike. Each of the following videos graphically depict the instant when life goes from normal to never again. Please be advised: many of these videos are extremely disturbing and some are documentary. But if you want to help someone change their driving habits, offending them with the truth is sometimes the best strategy.
1. A Ticket Could Have Saved Her
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's first shock-ad, released early August in 2014, takes on the teen epidemic, texting while driving. This teen driver is clearly trying to keep her eyes on the road as she texts, but watch what happens.
2. Every Decision Matters
In this viral blockbuster, New Zeland Transportation Agency uses suspension of disbelief to capture the final plea of a man who's about to be pulverized in front of his young son. The ad shows how even the smallest mistake can be fatal -- you just don't know when the other driver will also make one.
3. He Used To Text and Drive Everyday
From the ATT&T documentary From One Second to the Next, directed by Werner Herzog, this man explains how his life forever changed the night he killed two innocent men. He wonders how he ever believed he could text while driving.
4. When a Drunk Driver Survives
This is the pioneer shock-ad made by Transportation Accident Commission (TAC) of Victoria, Australia. A man confronts the aftermath of an accident he caused while driving drunk. A nurse comments on the prevalence of emergency room visits caused by drunk driving.
5. With One Text She Kills Her Best Friend
Based actual events, this extremely graphic PSA from the Gwent Police Department in Wales shows how life can be destroyed in an instant. One moment the cheerful teens are gossiping and teasing each other. The next moment...well you'll have to see what happens.
6. A Speeder Goes to Prison
This impressive ad was made by the local Police Service in Winnipeg, Canada, to illustrate "the relationship between excessive speed and traffic collisions, injuries and fatalities."
7. What Speeding Does to Our Children
If you want to understand what speeding destroys, watch these children at play. Made by the Department of Environment in Northern Ireland.
8.It Can Happen Even if You Don't Drink
Young film maker, David Joseph based this video on the classic poem, "I went to a party, Mom." The film shows how even teens who make the right choices can be victims in the wrong environment.
9. Talking on a Cell Phone Vs. Driving Drunk
Although not intended as a PSA, this "mini-myth" from MythBusters demonstrates the risks of a cell phone conversation (not including the dialing or holding the phone).
10. TAC Compilation: The Horrors of Drunk Driving"
In 2009, after 20 years of brilliant shock ads, TAC celebrated a 60 percent reduction in Victoria's road death toll with this compilation. It takes you through all possible outcomes of drunk driving, each one in graphic detail. By the end you'll understand why arrest is the best possible outcome for a drunk driver. This is by far the most watched driving PSA in internet history -- nearly 16 million views.