Sept. 17 is Two-Second Turnoff Day for Mobile Phones from Seventeen

It’s no secret that distracted driving has been a growing problem in the U.S. Although much has been done in cities and states across the country to prevent the unsafe practices of talking and texting while driving, people are still involved in accidents daily because of distracted driving.

Some startling facts from the U.S. Government Website for Distracted Driving:

• In 2008, slightly more than almost 20 percent of all crashes in the year involved some type of distraction. 
• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured. 
• Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. 
• Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent, which is the legal limit in many states.

YouTube Video Contest

Recently the Department of Transportation, Seventeen magazine and AAA have joined forces in an effort to combat distracted driving by co-sponsoring a viral video challenge to raise awareness of the issue. The contest is centered on Seventeen’s Two-Second Turnoff Day, which is scheduled for Sept. 17. The idea of Two-Second Turnoff Day is that it takes two seconds or less to get into a crash, and by taking two seconds to turn off your cell phone before getting into the car, you can prevent the crash from happening altogether.

The contest, aimed at teen drivers, asks that participants shoot their own public service announcement against distracted driving, post it on YouTube and share it with their friends. Those who wish to participate have until Sept. 10 to sign up and submit their PSAs. The winner of the contest will receive $2,000, have his or her video posted on Seventeen.com, AAAexchange.com and distraction.gov, as well as have it featured at the Distracted Driving Summit on Sept. 21 in Washington.

Visit Seventeen.com for contest rules.