We’ve all done it, but that doesn’t make it okay.
Texting while driving is an unfortunate side effect of our smartphone-crazed world, and a new project is attempting to make us stop by pointing out our bad behavior on a large scale.
Brian Singer started TWIT (that’s texting while driving, for the uninitiated) after the he noticed how many people he saw staring at their screens during his commute. So the San Francisco-based artist started posting his images to a website and now encourages users to send in shots they take while traveling — but only when you’re in the passenger seat, natch.
The resulting pictures are rarely exciting in their composition, but it’s utterly terrifying to scroll and see person after person caught redhanded using a phone while operating a moving motor vehicle. Singer generally posts several photos per week, each with an appropriately snarky headline about the person’s unsafe behavior.
Research in 2013 suggested that texting while driving is the leading cause of death for teenagers. And according to Singer, approximately 660,000 drivers are using their phones at any given time during daylight hours in America.
Singer is now taking his project to the next level by putting the images up on billboards in the ultimate effort to shame the drivers who just can’t quit. Maybe consider the fact that you could end up on a billboard next time you drive and text.
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