Pass The Phone: Addressing Mobile Phone Distraction in Young Drivers
An insightful mobile phone distraction campaign, informed by personal experience, launched in the United States today to encourage young American drivers to avoid using their mobile phone while driving.
The campaign was created by American university student Danika Perez as part of the international Re:act road safety behavior change program, which challenges design communications students to raise awareness among 17-25 year olds of road safety risks and to change their behavior. In 2024, the program focused on mobile phone distraction among young drivers and pedestrians.
The selected campaign, Pass the Phone, will be displayed in Maryland on the digital billboards of Re:act’s US media partner Clear Channel Outdoor for the next four weeks.
“When I was 16, I was in a car crash affected by distracted driving,” explained Danika, the University of Maryland – College Park (UMD) student who created the campaign.
“It is clear to me that it is not a certain type of person who gets into crashes, it can be anyone. The rise in phone and technology usage means we face even more severe risks due to our habitual behaviors.
“I am very proud to be selected for Re:act 2024 in Maryland and to create a campaign that addresses the problem at hand – or, in this case, quite literally in your hands.”
Re:act founder and executive director Andrew Hardwick commended the 20 participating UMD students on the exceptional standard of the campaigns produced.
“Selecting one campaign to be displayed publicly was a very difficult task,” he said, “but the simplicity of providing young drivers with a safe behavior they are comfortable following saw Danika’s concept chosen.
“The quality of the campaigns reflected how the topic struck a chord with participating students, with mobile phone distraction representing a major road safety risk across the globe, particularly among young people.
“Re:act has run in the United States since 2022, engaging young Americans with road safety through creating peer-to-peer campaigns aimed at changing the behavior of their peers. The campaigns produced are a result of the sustained commitment of our partners – program partners Maryland Department of Transportation, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Transurban as well UMD and Clear Channel – and we thank them for their committed support.”
Alireza Vaziri, Assistant Professor of Design at University of Maryland said: “The Re:act program has been instrumental in empowering our students to apply their design skills for real-world impact. By designing a targeted road safety campaign, they not only enhance their creative abilities but also fulfill a pivotal social responsibility. We are proud of their dedication and the innovative solutions they have developed to address distracted driving.
“I believe that by participating in a real project like this, students are encouraged to concentrate both on aesthetics and problem-solving in visual communication design. As a result of researching, reiterating and receiving feedback from subject matter experts, they become better equipped to tackle challenging tasks with real clients in their future careers.”
Russ Rader, Senior Vice President for Communications at Re:act program partner IIHS, added: “Getting drivers to separate themselves from their phones is a challenge because a lot of drivers falsely believe they can multitask and it’s other drivers using their phones who are the problem.
“As young people are especially at risk, it’s been rewarding to see them talking to each other about potential solutions and creating messages that can resonate with their peers.”
Internationally, the Re:act program is in its ninth year, with 1,250 students in North and South America, the United Kingdom and Australia having completed the curriculum-based program. Globally, 46+ million people have seen students’ campaigns on the out of home assets of Re:act’s media partners in five countries.
Visit reactforchange.org to learn more about the Re:act program
