Texting while driving is such a problem that Honda has flipped the script and resorted to encouraging teens to be the role models in their relationships with their parents.
Having dubbed April the “Distracted Driving Awareness Month,” Honda is telling teens to have #TheTextTalk, “an open dialogue with their parents about practicing safer driving habits.”
The campaign kicks off with a series of authentic videos featuring teens and parents discussing their texting-while-driving habits and what dangers this involves. According to the campaign, a study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that one of three parents read text messages while driving their children between ages four and ten, and one in seven use social media in the same context.
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Combined with data by the NHTSA that suggests more than 1,000 people are injured every day in the US alone in crashes involving distracted drivers, this puts forward a compelling case to try to make families face their own habits and understand the consequences.
“By making children and teens the catalysts for change, Honda’s distracted driving campaign takes a nontraditional approach in parent-child dynamics to capture true human emotion and encourage safer driving,” said Jessica Fini, social media manager at American Honda. “For the past six years, we have used our social media platforms to promote safer driving during National Distracted Driving Awareness month, and we hope having the text talk will inspire a crucial conversation between teens and parents beyond the month of April.”
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