U Drive. U Text. U Pay logo
U Drive. U Text. U Pay logo
(NHTSA)
DETROIT, MI - A federal safety agency has taken to Twitter to call out people who are sounding off about using their smart phones while driving.
"Snapchatting while driving is like the real life Pokeman Snap," says Twitter user "DrunkCollegeKid."
The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration is not amused, and has responded: "Except in real life, you actually have to control the car you're riding in, @drunkcollegekid. Put down the phone and #justdrive."
It is one of several "#justdrive" scoldings from NHTSA as part of Distracted Driving Awareness month, a now-six-year tradition that looks to combat carelessness behind the wheel.
The advent of smart phones has added new ways to lure drivers' eyes away from the road, and in 2014 distracted driving killed 3,179 people and injured another 431,000 in the U.S., according to NHTSA.
NHTSA has also run an advertising campaign called "U Drive. U Text. U Pay" that reminds drivers that they can be issued citations for fiddling with their cell phones while driving.
Here are some other tweets, with NHTSA's responses:
"Lives are at stake on our highways," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in a release earlier this month. "NHTSA wants to drive behavior change, stop bad habits, and encourage safe driving," said NHTSA Administrator, Dr. Mark Rosekind. "People need to understand the potential price of distracted driving. The cost of a ticket is nothing, compared to the irrevocable cost of taking someone's life."
NHTSA has more on distracted driving at www.distraction.gov.