(photo: activerain.trulia.com)

Video about texting and driving grabs teens’ attention (link below). In the last weeks I’ve been driving the Interstates and major highways in three northeastern states and one Canadian province. From this limited cruise, only New York State showed evidence it is tackling the dangerous practice of texting while driving. We’re all familiar with the roadside “rest stops”; now NYS has added “text stops,” announced with frequent signs like “It can wait: Text stop 5 miles.” These areas are pretty close together, too, at least on Interstate 81. In some places, they’ve added “text stop” signage above existing rest stop signs, but in others, they’ve created a quarter-mile lane for cars or trucks to pull off the highway, send that vital text message, and pull back on. For what can happen when you don’t, see this absolutely brilliant video.

Truthfully, I didn’t see very many people pulled over to text, but planting the seed that there’s a time and place for texting is a worthy effort that may have a long-term impact. Better that than the kind of impact pictured above.