Today is World Emoji Day, and with the release of “The Emoji Movie” following soon after, little electronic smileys are going to be everywhere this summer.
The movie depicts one emoji’s struggle to break free from representing a single emotion. It’s a journey he’s not meant to take. But more than that, the journey that no emoji should make is one that starts from a driver’s phone. In 2016, a survey revealed that 22 per cent of young Europeans emoji and drive, another distraction that may help to explain why 18- to 24-years-old drivers account for 15 per cent of all fatal road accidents in Europe, despite making up only 8 per cent of the driving population.
To highlight the dangers, Ford has now released a short film, showing what could happen when drivers send messages and emojis.
This is also one of the messages that Ford’s Driving Skills for Life programme teaches young drivers in South Africa, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and the U.K. The hands-on classes cover hazard recognition, vehicle handling, and speed and space management; as well as the risks posed by drinking and driving, driving after taking drugs, and taking selfies.
