“You can’t even text and walk… so why do you text and drive?” the video concludes.

You might have seen this video on Facebook, or on Twitter in recently weeks.

It’ll have you in stitches at the start, but it packs a harrowing – and graphic – punch, not to mention a message we should all know by now.

The video, produced by South Africa’s Western Cape Government, went viral and was shared widely around the world, and it’s easy to see why.

It begins with a montage of funny footage of people so engrossed in their phones they bump into all manner of things, dropping their phones in the process.

Other clips include people falling over wet floor signs, crates, lamp posts and one person falling into a pond while not looking where they are going.

It’s at this point you’re probably finding the whole thing hilarious. But things are about to change – drastically.

The video cuts to a clip of a young woman texting while she is driving.

Her eyes are fixed on the screen and she has one hand off the wheel of her car.

Suddenly, with a horrific jolt, she is thrown violently forward, her vehicle sent spinning into a cartwheel while broken glass and blood spatter the camera.

“You can’t even text and walk… so why do you text and drive?” the video concludes.

‘Think twice’

The footage comes in timely fashion as strict new rules were enforced in the UK for drivers using phones behind the wheel.

Drivers caught will be given a fixed penalty notice, which under new legislation is a £200 fine, and six points on their licence.

Cases could go to court where drivers can be fined £1,000 and disqualified from driving or riding. Drivers of buses or goods vehicles could get a maximum fine of £2,500.

“Think twice before driving and using your phone,” is the message from police.

A total of 58 drivers were caught using their mobile phones at the wheel in Surrey in March alone, a Freedom of Information request revealed.

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