Educational Media Reviews Online

The intent of this documentary and the accompanying Teacher’s Resource is to give teens the facts necessary to change their distracted driving behavior, particularly their cell phone use. Distracted driving can refer to anything that takes the mind, the eyes, the hands, or the emotions off the task of driving. Unfortunately, as the teen narrator of the documentary explains, “Most drivers, whatever their age, think that while others may be stupid or incompetent drivers, they themselves are excellent drivers who are fully capable of multitasking.”

Therefore, the producers of this documentary set out to present the facts. Those facts include: interviews with teens about the kinds of behaviors they engage in while driving and their reasons for doing so; first-hand accounts from teens who have caused accidents because they were using a cell phone and those who have been the victims of such accidents; research from the University of Utah’s driving simulation lab indicating the brain’s inability to drive well while talking or texting on a cell phone; interviews with attorneys and law enforcement officials regarding penalty increases for accidents caused by distracted driving; and the formation of advocate groups to support victims and advocate for cell-free driving such as Focus-Driven Advocates for cell-free driving.

This is an extremely well crafted and informative documentary. Narrated by a teen, the graphics, music, and interviews are all directed at a teen audience. Although sobering, presented information is well paced without sensationalism, such that interest is maintained. The accompanying Teacher’s Resource includes pre-and-post tests, student activities, fact sheets, and additional resources designed to help teens translate the information from the documentary into action. This is an excellent resource for school libraries as well as groups or individuals working with teens. Online Preview.