This distracted driving PSA isn’t meant to make you LOL, but it will have you saying OMG.

The Department of Transportation will be releasing its new public service announcement, titled OMG, in theaters and at gas stations nationwide, in the next month. This PSA is targeted to teens to remind them to put down the cell phone and stop texting while driving. Employing popular texting phrases like LOL and L8R, the ad shows the dangers that three little characters can potentially cause. And with the holiday season almost upon us – with all the vacation days, parties and high-tech gifts – this PSA is a sobering reminder of how little it takes to get into a car accident while texting and driving.

The PSA will be shown at Regal Cinema movie screens and PumpTop TV at gas stations. Or you can watch it after the jump.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

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As part of a $1.1 billion cost-cutting effort, PSA, the parent company of both Peugeot and Citroen, will shed 6,000 jobs in Europe, with 2,500 white collar jobs, 2,500 contract worker jobs and 1,000 blue collar jobs expected to be cut in 2012.

PSA claimed that their car-making operations would barely turn a profit in the coming year and that the company’s cash flow would be negative. ”The competitive environment has become more challenging due to pricing pressure, which has intensified in Europe since September, and the unfavorable impact on the country mix of the falloff in demand in southern Europe,” the company said in a statement released to Automotive News.

One bright spot for PSA was that sales outside of Europe have risen 41 percent, with China in particular acting as a bright spot for the company.

[Source: Automotive News]

The Cars franchise is about more that just marketing and merchandising. In fact, the characters of Cars 2 (in theaters June 24) has teamed up with the Department of Transportation (DOT), to help fight distracted driving with a new public service ad.

Staring Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater, the 30-second PSA is called, “Only the bad guys drive distracted.” Basically, it reminds drivers of a very important message: “No calling, no texting. Nothing that can take away your focus.”

This PSA can be seen in more than a dozen countries and various languages. As well, DOT is working on using the ad as part of the Make Roads Safe campaign for global road safety.

This isn’t the first time the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has worked with Disney on driving safety campaigns. You may remember the re-release of Cinderella in 2005 urging parents to fit their children properly in booster seats.

You can watch the Cars 2 PSA after the jump.

[Source: Consumer Reports]
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With the seemingly endless recall notices from Toyota over the past week, the automaker has decided to send out a list of Top 10 questions an answers that its customers might have. We’ve tried to answer many of them through several articles all week long.

For vehicles involved in the pedal recall see here:

Recall Notice: Toyota Recalls 2.3 Million Vehicles for Sticking Accelerator Pedal

For what to do if your vehicle does unintendedly accelerate, see here:

Owners Should Keep Driving Cars Despite Safety Issue Says Toyota

See after the jump for Toyota’s Top 10 Questions and Answers about the Sticking Accelerator Pedal Recall:

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