UVU student urging drivers to stop texting and phoning

PROVO — Jalise Hinton used to be quite proficient at texting while driving, but when she decided her senior research project would be aimed at getting people to stop, she thought she should be the first.

"I want people to realize that it isn't just the texting driver that may be at risk but the other vehicles on the roads, as well as any passengers or pedestrians," she said. After researching statistics involving accidents caused while drivers were texting or otherwise distracted, Hinton discovered that using a cell phone while operating a moving vehicle is "worse than drinking and driving.

"When you're driving drunk, at least your eyes are still on the road," she said. "When you're texting or using your phone, your eyes leave the road."

So Hinton, a Utah Valley University student studying graphic design, decided she had to do something to stop it. She began plastering her message all over town and, recently, on a billboard alongside a highway in Murray.

"Will these be your final words?" reads a banner advertisement posted on at least 18 benches and bus stop shelters across Provo. The ads show a person's hands on a steering wheel but also holding a cell phone and texting. Hinton said she and UVU photography major Tempestt Turman tried to portray the seriousness of the consequences of texting while driving, which kills nearly 6,000 people each year, according to a report released by AAA.

"We wanted the message to hit home," Hinton said. "There's really nothing we can do to stop it, but just increasing awareness of it helps people make the decision to stop."

Space on the benches was donated to the cause, and Hinton was able to obtain a grant from UVU's Center for Engaged Learning to pay printing costs for the advertisement banners. They'll remain posted until the spaces are sold to other advertisers. Hinton hopes her message will sink into the minds of drivers and create safer roads for everyone.

"I had to either turn my phone off while I was in the car or put it somewhere I couldn't reach, and if it rang or someone texted me while I was driving, I just had to ignore it," she said. "Of course it was harder at first, but it's a matter of self control. You just have to make yourself do it."