State hopes shocking ads will help deter texting while driving

The statistics are nothing to LOL at.

Authorities say about 200,000 traffic accidents nationwide are caused yearly by people texting while driving. And while Illinois has joined a growing list of states that have outlawed texting while driving, the number of distracted drivers continues to climb.

"This is why we need to change people's behavior," DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said. "They are just not getting it. People continue to text and drive. The percentage of people doing it is increasing rather than decreasing even though it's illegal behavior."

Birkett and Secretary of State Jesse White unveiled Tuesday a series of public service announcements produced and funded by a pair of local businessmen aimed at giving motorists the jolt they need to get their eyes off the cell phone and on the road.

The three commercials, which officials urged television stations to run, comes on the heels of new research that concludes texting bans in several states haven't reduced crashes.

That finding by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and its Highway Loss Data Institute is being strongly challenged by one group.

In a written statement, the Itasca-based National Safety Council says the new report is "not surprising" because the study was performed in states "at a time when consistent, uniform and effective enforcement" wasn't in place.

"Texting laws that are not effectively enforced could not be expected to have much safety benefit," the safety council statement read.

Like drinking and driving laws and mandatory seat belt requirements, Birkett and White said it takes time to convince people to change their behavior.

White says it's up to police in Illinois to enforce the texting ban and a related law prohibiting drivers from using cell phones in school or construction zones unless the phone is in hands-free mode.

"It's really a law enforcement issue," White said. "We want law enforcement to be vigilant in the issuing of tickets and getting after individuals who violate the spirit of the law."

Birkett acknowledged that's not an easy task for police officers.

"Many people hold the cell phones on their laps or below the dashboard while texting," he said. "So it's difficult for police officers to determine what is distracting the person."

And it's not just teenagers who are texting while driving. Statistics show that a growing number of adults 35 years old and older are doing it, officials said.

In the meantime, White said he believes commercials like the ones Naperville resident Richard Verson and his business partner, John Cuneo of Chicago, filmed at the DuPage County morgue can make a difference.

Some dark humor makes the point in the ads. In one, for instance, a "coroner" talks to a man in a body bag who is still busy texting. The man was trying to text his wife to pick up his suit when he slammed into a minivan and sent two to the hospital. "Sounds like a text message that just couldn't wait," the coroner says before grabbing the phone and zipping up the body bag.

"We're on the same page now," Birkett said. "And we're going to use every tool that we can to inform the public. And that's really the way we're going to change behaviors."

Texting: Growing number of adults are guilty of it