HAMILTON — A group of Miami University students are working to put the brakes on the dangerous habit of texting while driving.

Miami’s Mobile Health Unit peer educators and students in the kinesiology and health class, Contemporary Issues in Men’s Health, organized a pledge drive that started April 21 on Miami’s Hamilton campus during the Spring Fling Festival.

The pledge drive will continue at various locations on the Oxford campus through April 30, which coincides with National No Phone Zone Day on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Winfrey started the campaign in January to collect pledges to not text or talk on the phone while driving.

Miami’s goal is to have five percent, or 800 students, sign the pledge, but only if they’ll honor it.

“Life is worth more than a text or a phone call; that’s the message we want to relate to our students,” said Reginald Fennell, professor of kinesiology and health. “This isn’t a contest to see how many pledge cards we get. We want students to take the pledge seriously.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people between ages 16 and 20, accounting for more than 5,000 deaths each year.

Andrew Delzoppo, a junior health studies major, knows the dangers of distracted driving but admits it’s a hard habit to break.

“I have had some close calls while texting and driving, such as nearly going off the road and veering into the rumble strips on freeways, but I still do it,” Delzoppo said. “I also talk on the phone while driving, which increases directly with the duration of the drive, because it saves me from falling asleep behind the wheel and causing potentially catastrophic problems.”

Students will be given a postcard with a message on one side about the Mobile Health Unit and the other side will feature a text message or story written by fellow students, designed to show how connected their generation is to phones and technology.