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Death by Texting Film Racks up 1.5 Million Hits Online


´Cow’, the hard-hitting film made by Gwent Police and Tredegar Comprehensive School in South Wales which shows the devastating consequences of texting while driving has now been viewed over 1.5 million times on You Tube.

The 30-minute film shows an horrific road crash caused by a teenage girl who texts her friend while she’s at the wheel. It is a deliberately graphic and realistic depiction of the harrowing and life-changing consequences of road crashes caused by people who have been texting on their mobile phone.

Web users across the world have been passing on links to the You Tube film and discussing its content in online blogs and forums. The film’s popularity has soared since last week and it’s now become a global viral phenomenon. This morning Gwent Police Chief Constable Mick Giannasi told ITV’s GMTV programme that far too many people are dying on British roads in crashes caused by drivers who are distracted by text messaging.

Last week Fox TV News in the US discussed the value of using shock tactics like this to engage drivers illegally using mobile phones. The US media giant also showed clips of the film during a news piece relating to a Bill currently going though the Senate which would require each state to ban texting and driving within two years.

Gwent’s Chief Constable, Mick Giannasi, who also leads on roads policing issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said he was delighted that the film had been viewed by so many people:
“The messages contained in the film are as relevant to the people of Tennessee as they are to the residents of Tredegar. Texting and driving can have tragic consequences and the more this film is viewed, the better. Young people think they can text on auto-pilot because they do it so instinctively - for that reason we need to use strong imagery to get them to sit up and take notice. All drivers must be made aware of the potentially dreadful consequences of texting while they’re driving”.

‘Cow’ writer and director Peter Watkins-Hughes said:
“Texting whilst driving is a fairly new behaviour and this film aims to encourage people to modify their behaviour, making it socially unacceptable in the way that drink driving is a social taboo. The film is hitting home because it has a hard edge and it taps into something that lots of people do but know they shouldn’t. If we can get one person to change their behaviour then it will have been worthwhile”.

´Cow´ was made with the help of Blaenau Gwent Education, Gwent Police Shrievalty Trust, the International Film School at the University of Wales Newport and Legal & General.