How about carrying around a solid, everyday reminder about the dangers of texting while driving? That’s the idea behind Crashed Cases, phone cases that cover your device in the twisted metal recovered from car crashes. Slightly morbid, certainly, but feeling the cool, scratched, and dented surface under your fingers should stop you going any further when you take one hand from the steering wheel to pick it up.
Crashed Cases are the work of brand management company NordDDB and Volkswagen cars in Stockholm, and are designed to mark the introduction of a law that made using a phone while driving illegal in Sweden, passed at the beginning of February. It’s not a celebratory action, though, because the country’s accident rate hasn’t changed.
For now this is a limited edition run, consisting of 153 cases, a number not arbitrarily chosen, because it represents the number of serious road accidents in Sweden during February this year — the first month of the new law. Volkswagen brand manager Johan Karlsson says the cases are a, “silent reminder,” about keeping focused on the task of driving, and not checking your phone. Texting while driving increases the risk of having an accident by 23 times, says VW.
Buying a Crashed Case, which are only available for the Apple iPhone 8 at the moment, will see the proceeds go to Swedish accident survival and rehabilitation group Trafikskadefonden. There it will be put to work helping people who have been injured in a road accident. NordDBB told Digital Trends shipping to the United States shouldn’t be a problem, and the Crashed Case can be ordered online for 600 Swedish crowns, or about $70. Each case is handmade, and has its own unique number engraved in it.
Drivers distracted by phones recently topped a U.S. survey as the group most likely to have an accident, beating out those that speed or drive aggressively, and we’ve seen horrific images of drivers using not one but two phones while behind the wheel on more than a single occasion. It’s not all bad news. Another study found that among people with Apple’s Do Not Disturb While Driving feature in iOS 11 switched on, instances of using a phone while driving dropped by 8 percent.
Why not activate this feature on your iPhone now, and consider wrapping it in a Crashed Case for some extra protection, if you’re trying to resist the temptation to drive and text?
