Texting while driving is really dangerous. Between recent studies, mainstream media coverage, and Ray LaHood’s attention to the subject, it’s getting attention and reaching the popular consciousness.

Last weekend, New York police ran a 24-hour crackdown on drivers texting or talking on the phone (which is similarly dangerous). They wrote 7,432 tickets, compared to 580 on a typical day. New York allows hands-free devices, though as the Daily News notes, they’re not any safer.

Texting while driving, however, is worst of all. Two recent videos address the issue, but from opposite emotional standpoints. First, Stephen Colbert looked at the issue earlier this month. He introduced his own solution, along with New York’s newest and most oddly-placed bike lane. Via Street Heat.

Now that you’re in a happy mood, watch this extremely heartbreaking video showing the consequences of texting while driving, produced by the town of Gwent, Wales. It’s pretty graphic, but so are the real-life consequences of distracted driving. Via Infrastructurist.

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Tagged: bicycling, bike lanes, distracted driving, roads, video

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.