shocking video every driver must watch

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/

A GRISLY low budget public information film warning kids not to text while
driving has become an international internet sensation with FIVE MILLION
hits.

The 30-minute movie was made in a day by a former BBC producer using school
kids as actors. It cost £10,000 to make, paid for by a local council and
donations.

It was only intended as a warning to youngsters in schools around Tredegar,
South Wales.
But a four-and-a-half-minute clip posted on YouTube is now being watched by
millions of people around the world.

And American advertising guru Donny Deutsch has already described it as one of
the most powerful public information films ever made.

It tells the story of a fictional 17-year-old girl called Cassie Cowan, played
by Jenny Davies, 18.

She is dubbed "a nice girl from a nice valleys family". But she causes a devastating car crash when she takes her eyes off the road
while texting.
The collision kills Cassie's two best pals and a couple in another car. But
the key to the film's success is the harrowing detail in which the impact of
the crash and its aftermath are shown.

The girls in the car are thrown around like ragdolls, their heads bouncing off
the windscreen with sickening force.

A child in the car Cassie crashes into asks a member of the emergency services: "When will mummy and daddy wake up?" whilst a baby stares unblinking - and could also be dead.

The screams of Cassie, when she realises what has happened, send a chill down
the spine.The project came about when film maker Peter Watkins-Hughes was asked to
update an educational film he made 15 years ago for Tredegar Comprehensive.

He said: "That was about joy-riding. But when I spoke to pupils at the school they told me that whilst joy-riding did happen, teenagers texting whilst driving was a much bigger problem.
"I think that is partly why the film has been such a success because it has been a collaborative effort from the beginning and as a result is very realistic.

"For instance Cassie has the crash when she is looking up a number in the address book of her phone, not when she is actually sending a text.
Crash scene ... smashed cars after Cassie's blunder

"Kids showed me how they could write a text with their hands behind their back, but the one thing they had to look at the phone for was to find the number, so I wanted to put that in."
The film went global after Peter posted the clip on YouTube so a friend at the BBC could see it. It lay dormant for weeks until several bloggers stumbled upon it.
Peter said: "It was crazy, overnight we had 400,000 hits, and that soon climbed.
"But the film carries a really important message and I think that is why people from New York to New Zealand are watching it. I think we get the emotion right. Where most warning films end with the crash, we show the ongoing pain afterwards."

The film has now sparked a huge debate in America where using a mobile phone whilst driving is banned in only a handful of states.A recent survey there found that 80 per cent of people who had seen the film were less likely to text while driving.
Cassie actress Jenny said: "I can't believe people have reacted on such a massive scale.
"The story is powerful because Cassie is a normal girl who makes a mistake which results in horrendous consequences."

The film may now be shown in a million US schools as well as in classes across the UK.

The following advert contains graphic footage.But should be watched by everyone,especially if they are drivers!

Wow ...tredegar is just up the road from where i live lol..didnt realise this video had even been produced until it hit the web recently.Blaenaucouncil have come trumps with this one..

Perhaps the next advert they should make could be about the dangers of venturing out of your home after 12 at night...especially given we dont have any street lights to light our paths!!!

hehe

I am a mum of four children 26, 23, 19 and 16 and this is one of my worst fears. I shall make sure that they all watch this video, together with their boyfriends.
During the last four years six young people my family know have died in car crashes, three boys and three girls. One was my 19 year old daughters friend. She had just passed her test, and had been given her mothers Mini Cooper S. She was driving down a straight country road when a motor cycle overtook her at speed. It must have frightened her as it had to cut in front of her quickly because of an oncoming car. She swerved, clipped the oncoming car and hit an eight foot brick wall. The car burst into flames. I won't tell you the rest, it was too horrific for words. Abi and her friend Bede were just going to the cinema.