Distracted driving is turning out to be a grave problem. Any activity - using your phone, eating, drinking, talking to co-passengers, which distracts one from driving, is considered distracted driving. According to the ‘Road Accidents in India’, a report published by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in 2015, 146,133 people were killed in accidents, one of the top causes of death across the world. In fact, the WHO categorises driver distraction as an important risk factor for road crash injuries.
In view of such a scenario, Rotary Club of Bangalore decided to create some awareness regarding the issue. The NGO has kicked off a campaign against distracted driving with a small film. The 12-second clip features an art work depicting just two hands on a steering wheel and a mobile fixed on a dashboard. The mobile flashes a message - ‘Reading your last msg?’ as the driver seems to be oblivious of a big vehicle coming from the other side. Don’t text and drive is the message, the film intends to promulgate. The art work has been created by artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy, who is known to lend his hand to social causes like these.
Bengaluru , Karnataka : 31/10/2015 : Artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy in Bengaluru on 31st October 2016 . Photo : K. Bhagya Prakash.
The clip first hit the screens on August 5 and was screened along with
When Harry Met Sejal at INOX Cinemas, which is a collaborator on the project. And right now, the film is being screened in 23 multiplexes in South India with a total of 79 auditoriums, at the start of the movie and after the interval.
MADURAI, TAMIL NADU, 15/11/2016: Motorcyclists caught in the brazen act of using their mobile phones while riding their vehicles in Madurai on November 15, 2016.
Photo: R. Ashok
“Texting and driving is a major problem and lot of us are doing it,”says Nalini Nanjundayya, a member of Rotary Club of Bangalore. “As director, Vocational Service at Rotary Club of Bangalore, I wanted to address the issue. That is when I came across Baadal. We had even made some stickers and distributed it amongst people. We hope that the public will be influenced by this.” Nalini goes on to add that to achieve maximum impact, Baadal had conceptualised it in 3D. “So that the viewer feels, she/he is behind the wheels and experiences it well.”
According to the ‘ Mobile Phone Use: A growing problem of driver distraction ’ report by the World Health Organization (WHO), distraction caused by mobile phones can affect one’s driving performance in a number of ways like longer reaction times, reduction in alertness and awareness of the driving situation.
