Behind the wheel, cell phones can kill

When using a mobile phone while driving, a motorist could be holding on the tip of his fingers the life of a cyclist, a pedestrian or another motorist.

Recently, the French Sécurité Routière, together with its agencies La Chose and Anatome, launched a new campaign (print and radio) to remind the public that just a few seconds of telephone use while driving are enough to destroy someone’s life.

Reading or writing a text message, posting on social media, or just checking one’s email: these have become mundane actions, a part of everyday life. But they can prove dramatic if done while driving, as such actions force drivers to divert their eyes from the road for at least five seconds, equivalent to 70 meters at city speeds (50 kms/ hr) and multiply by 23 the chance of an accident.

These past few years, telephone use has become one of the leading causes of road accidents, together with alcohol and speeding. Approximately one personal injury in ten is reportedly linked to telephone use while driving.

Facing the proliferation of telephone use behind the wheel, and to raise awareness about this epidemic, Sécurité Routière chose to create an immediate link between cause and effect. The idea was to symbolise the physical telephone with the road on which the accident occurs. Thus, that small innocuous hand movement transforms itself metaphorically into an ultra-violent action: crushing a pedestrian at a crosswalk, running over a cyclist on a country road, or crashing into a family car.

The campaign was produced by the world-famous Irish photographer Vincent Dixon. His work brings together energy, technique and esthetic ambition.