
A trucker’s plan to spread awareness about the dangers of texting and driving went viral in a series of videos posted to Facebook last week.
The videos were posted by truck driver Pattie Houston and her sister, Toni, on Tuesday, January 2nd, and have since gained over 5 million views.
The plan to spread awareness began when Houston, a truck driver of more than 10 years, noticed a spike in the number of motorists she saw texting and driving.
“It has gotten ridiculous,” she said, “I can even see people Facetiming and driving down the road,” so she and her sister decided to do something about it.
Houston dressed up in sunglasses and a cane and walked through a Walmart parking lot, pretending to be blind, while her sister followed behind, recording and pretending not to know her. Houston made a scene of feeling her way to her white Jeep before climbing in and driving away, leaving onlookers shocked and concerned.
The video was then posted to sister Toni’s Facebook page with the caption:
“OMG!!! Y’all ain’t gonna believe what I just saw at Walmart!!!! Me & Mom watched this woman get out of her car & couldn’t believe it, so we waited for her to come out… WATCH THIS!!!!!!!”
The sisters then waited several hours, allowing the video of an apparently blind woman driving to spread, before posting a final video revealing the truth.
“Whatever you do, please do not text and drive… It’s like driving blind,” Houston proclaims, sitting atop the hood of her Jeep before pulling out the sunglasses and cane to reveal her secret identity – the blind driver.
The stunt has left many Facebook viewers with varying reactions, from awe to outrage.
“Good job! Way to get people attention and end with an important message,” commented one.
“Really? Really? What does any of that have to do with texting and driving? Not funny!” said another.
The story of Houston’s efforts against texting and driving even made it to local news and is continuing to spread awareness online.
Check out Houston’s TV appearance below.