The associate dean of the Harvard School of Public Health wants to stop more drivers from texting while driving through entertainment, as he did with his designated driver campaign.
Scientists have researched the power of modeling behavior, and have found that many people respond to and learn social behaviors by watching others. This include watching a parent or freind text behind the wheel, or watching someone do it on TV.
The story doesn't go into much detail about the campaign, other than Winsten would like to get Hollywood involved in the project. Winsten wants to get stories out there on TV, websites, social media, etc. that speak out against distracted driving and using a mobile phone to talk or text while behind the wheel.
Winsten's designated driver campaign, which took place in the 1980s and 1990s, was an apparent success, at least according to the United Press story, and he hopes that a distracted driver campaign would have a similar impact.
Indeed, such a campaign would be good for drivers and passengers. There's no shortage of news reports out there about how people are seriously injured or killed on a regular basis as a result of taking your eyes off the road, even for a moment.
Source: 'Designated driver' campaign model for distracted driving