.INFO Helps Stop Texting While Driving

Jul 13, 2012

With growth in the use of smartphones has come the issue of using smartphones where you shouldn't: for example, behind the wheel. According to a recent HealthDay poll, 37 percent of adults text while driving. And there's no question that distracted driving can lead to accidents.

To help combat this, concerned citizens Jalise Hinton and Tempestt Turman started a Web-based campaign via a site at TextFreeRoads.info to make people aware of the dangers of driving and texting at the same time. And to help build greater awareness of this issue, Afilias -- the company behind the .info domain -- has been working with ClearChannel Outdoor and Circle Graphics, who have let Afilias take some of their under-utilized public advertising spaces and create "TextFreeRoads.info" billboards.

TextFreeRoads.INFO billboard in Chicago

Currently, there are 25 TextFreeRoads.info signs in Atlanta (1), Chicago (2), Cleveland (2), Columbus (1), El Paso (1), Houston (2), Indianapolis (1), Las Vegas (1), Los Angeles (4), Memphis (1), Miami (1),  Ocala (1), Philadelphia (1), Phoenix (2), San Antonio (1), Seattle (1) and Tampa (2). We're investigating an expansion of the program to additional billboards across the USA.

Also, to help "drive" the point home about the dangers of texting when behind the wheel, we're working with WBBM (CBS Radio Chicago) to test public service radio announcements.

While most people do it out of habit, it's good .INFO to remember -- as habits go -- texting and driving is a bad one.