With the recent rise of text messaging and other cell phone technology, most are quick to point out its drawbacks. But the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and L&S are using it in a whole new way that could save lives.
The Office of Highway Safety’s new “Act Civilized” campaign discourages drunk driving in South Dakota and promotes the use of designated drivers to get home safe. To support this effort, the state and L&S have launched a text messaging program that alerts users of sobriety checkpoints coming to their county. In select cities, users can also text in for the numbers of local cab companies.
Not only is the technology resonating with the campaign’s main target audience (males 21-35), but it’s setting a national example for other states. The campaign was recently featured in USA Today for what appears to be a first in discouraging drunk driving. Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, says he’s surveyed all 50 states’ highway safety agencies, and none reported having a program quite like South Dakota’s.
This text messaging campaign is not only a relevant application of modern technology to help with an old problem, but also a big win for every motorist on the road. Read the entire USA Today article here.
You can also sign up for text messages in South Dakota on the “Act Civilized” website.
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That’s a pretty neat campaign. Let’s hope people save the number to their phone BEFORE they go out drinking.