Glendale Fire unveils ‘Don’t Text and Drive’ campaign

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Glendale Fire Department rolled out a new vehicle on Friday that urges drivers not to text behind the wheel.

“It says ‘Don’t Text and Drive’ on it, but the ‘r’ and the ‘v’ are somewhat faded out, so it does say ‘Don’t Text and Die,'” said spokesman Michael Young.

The department is putting the issue front and center, pointing out national studies that show texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an automobile crash than driving while intoxicated.

In addition to the “Don’t Text and Drive/Don’t Text and Die” message, there’s also a bold graphic that leaves little to interpretation.

“We do have a skeleton hand holding a phone and texting. We wanted to catch people’s attention, especially the teenage group,” Young said.

The department plans to bring the car to different safety events around the community.