FocusDriven describes itself as “an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones.” The founders (pictured) all lost family members to crashes caused by drivers who were distracted by their cell phones.

The group’s mission recalls that of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

They include president Jennifer Smith, who lost her mother to a distracted driver in Oklahoma City. Smith has been a frequent speaker at governmental hearings, including last fall’s DIstracted Driver Summit.

Founding director Shelley Forney started her fight against cell phone use and driving after her 9-year-old daughter was killed in Fort Collins, inspiring Colorado’s “Erica’s Law” legislation. She, too, has been active in testifying as to dangers of cell phone use while driving.

The top of the FocusDriven web site features pictures of the founders’ relatives who died in cell phone-caused crashes.

The group was formed, in part, because of the National Safety Council’s call for a victim support organization. DOT chief Ray LaHood announced formation of the group on Jan. 12.

“I’m deeply impressed by (the founders’) commitment to turn these tragic events into positive actions that will help save lives,” LaHood said. “Their stories are not just heartbreaking; they’re also a clear and compelling call to action.

“Just as groups like MADD changed attitudes about drunk driving, I believe FocusDriven can help raise awareness and change the way people think about distracted driving.”

Victims of cell phone accidents and those seeking to prevent them can interact with FocusDriven on its website.

The New York Times recently profiled the case of Reggie Shaw, a college student who was text messaging as he lost control of his SUV and killed the rocket scientists, who were on their way to work. Shaw received a month in jail and 100 hours of community service, an incredibly light sentence that inspired new Utah laws that could add up to 15 years in prison for a texting-related vehicular homicide.

The somber and unsettling video visits with Shaw and the widows of his two victims, as well as the officer, prosecutor and judge who handled the case. The film needs no scare tactics to make its point; the glimpse of these shattered lives gets the message across.

View the complete text messaging fatality video on a Utah safety site or see it in two parts below:

Utah’s Department of Transportation reports the texting tragedy video was viewed at least a quarter million times in the three weeks following its Aug. 12 release. It is being shown in driver education classes and will seen at the state’s high school football championship games.

Another texting safety video is getting attention these days. It was made in Wales, with student actors. The PSA takes a more traditional scare approach but is worth a look as well.

The Times calls Utah text-messaging ban “the nation’s toughest law to crack down on texting behind the wheel.”

State Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, says: “It’s a willful act. If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you’re assuming the same risk.”

The Times noted:

Treating texting behind the wheel like drunken driving raises complex legal questions. Drunken drivers can be identified using a Breathalyzer. But there is no immediate test for driving while texting; such drivers could deny they were doing so, or claim to have been dialing a phone number.

The Times report ties creation of the law to a 2006 wreck caused by a text messaging student, in which two scientists died.

Students from Treorchy Comprehensive School in Wales worked on the half-hour film “Cow,” which tracks the character Cassie Cowan and her friends as they temp fate in various ways while behind the wheel — speeding, drunken driving.

The final flirtation with death comes as the kids send and read text messages on a handheld phone. The results are horrific; the message is clear.

A Florida foundation recently produced a similar text messaging video, with an almost identical ending. Fade to eternal black.

(Update: A city councilman in Boston cited this video as inspiration for his legislation that would ban text messaging in that city.)

The National Safety Council is following up on its sobering “Death by Cell Phone” video by placing roadside billboards in 67 markets nationwide. The campaign’s message will reach more than 1 million drivers, the NSC predicts.

The campaign tells of two deaths linked to cell phone-using drivers: Joe, a 12-year-old from Michigan and Linda, a 61-year-old from Oklahoma. The “Death by Cell Phone” billboards show pictures of the two victims of distracted driving, and give the URL for the 5-minute video.

The father of Joe and the daughter of Linda speak of their families’ tragedies and make pleas for the banning of cell phone use while driving.

The name of the campaign comes from Linda’s daughter Jennifer Smith, who says of her loss: “I just call it death by cell phone.”

Earlier this year, the National Safety Council made news by calling for a total ban on cell phone use by U.S. drivers. (continued)

• Cell phone use is involved in 6 percent of crashes.
• Cell phones are a factor in 636,000 accidents a year.
• 12,000 serious injuries result from talking while driving.
• 2,600 fatalities can be linked to cell phone use by motorists.

Nationwide Insurance and Lamar Advertising are sponsors of the cell phone safety campaign.

The lead item, of course, is the rail crash in Boston, in which 50 people were injured. The operator was text messaging his girlfriend at the time. The incident brought back memories of the deadly Los Angeles rail crash in which the operator was texting friends.

These reports from police and the courts were gathered in the past two weeks.

BOSTON — The Boston transit authority immediately banned operators of train, trolleys and buses from carrying cell phones and personal electronic devices after 49 people were injured when a trolley operator crashed into the rear of another trolley while sending a text message to his girlfriend. It is the most restrictive ban on cell phones by transit workers in the nation. The MBTA already had a campaign against texting, poster pictured. (NYT)

BOSTON — Police are investigating whether a prominent Boston physician was using her BlackBerry when her car swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with another car. Dr. Phyllis Jen died as a result of the crash. Neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be a factor in the accident. Jen was driving a small car that was in the head-on collision with a large SUV. As medical director of Brigham Internal Medicine Associates, Jen supervised nearly 150 doctors. (Information Week)

EDEN, N.Y. — The driver killed in a crash in Eden was texting at the time her vehicle collided with a truck on Route 75, Eden Police Chief Michael Felschow said. Brandie J. Conklin, 22, died after her car drifted across the road and collided with an oncoming milk truck on Route 75. Conklin had been exchanging text messages with a boyfriend who was traveling some distance behind her in another vehicle, according to Felschow. “We checked her text messages,” Felschow said. “She was basically texting up to the time of the accident.” (Buffalo News)

BAINBRIDGE, Ohio — A Kenston Elementary School teacher was found lying in a ditch after being struck by a car whose driver admits he was sending a text message, police say. The driver who struck Kupiec turned himself in, saying he was responding to a text message and did not realize he had hit anyone. (Fox 8 Cleveland)