Distracted driving kills at least nine people and injures more 1,000 every day in the U.S.
Travelers Insurance, in partnership with TBWA, is trying to reduce these alarming figures.
Today, the brand has released its next installment of "Unfinished Stories," which envisions potential future chapters of someone’s life had the driver not been distracted and the tragic accidents avoided.
Walt Connelly, executive creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, said: "Nine people die everyday because of distracted driving. That fact was the lightbulb moment for us. It’s crazy to think all these lives were cut short because someone was texting, eating, putting on makeup, or otherwise being distracted while driving. Leaving their stories unfinished.
"This idea of telling a person’s unfinished story advocates for the victim. Most distracted driving work does not. We wanted to focus on the people and the stories that were lost — grandfathers, athletes, mothers, fathers and children — to emphasize the tragic consequences and ultimately educate drivers about safety in a new way."
Two new films honor 19-year-old Shreya Dixit and 61-year-old Howard Stein, who were both killed in preventable distracted driving incidents.
Shreya was a gifted student and talented singer-songwriter who was on her way home from school one afternoon when the driver of her vehicle hit a concrete pylon.
In "The Stage," a film brought to life with animation by Psyop and directed by Jack Anderson, Shreya’s story doesn’t end there, but rather imagines her as a successful graduate student who returns to her love of music when she comes across an old song she had written herself but never had the chance to sing out loud.
Howard Stein was a self-taught master craftsman who delighted in making furniture and goods for friends and loved ones. He was struck by a distracted driver while tending to his truck on the side of the road.
His life is honored In "The Tree House," a beautifully animated short film created in partnership with LOBO studio and directed by Guilherme Marcondes.