While Facebook (News - Alert) is increasing its focus on mobile devices, there are still some times when it's best to put down said mobile device and focus on the task at hand. Driving is one of those times, and whether using a mobile device while driving is just a dangerous act or a full-on crime depends on location. Facebook's manager of communication design, meanwhile, isn't at all happy about the distracted drivers engaging in such behavior in his area, and reportedly turned to a new weapon in terms of getting such behavior off the road: billboards.

Brian Singer, the Facebook executive in question, started out fairly simply, by starting an anonymous website known as Texting While in Traffic (TWIT) that was designed to show off photos of people texting while driving, an illegal act in California. But then, Singer rented out 11 large billboards throughout the city of San Francisco, specifically to call attention to the photos in question. Singer had originally planned to work with an organization that dealt in driving awareness, but eventually ended up going it alone, funding the billboards through, at last report, early April.

Singer is not only engaged in this photo-taking himself, but is also reportedly encouraging others to do likewise, though hopefully not while driving. Singer said: “My hope is it will freak some people out and make them think twice before picking up the phone while driving. My greater hope is that it inspires others to start taking photos, too.”

Some might wonder how Singer is taking photos of other drivers engaged in such behavior while not actually being engaged in said behavior himself. Most of the photos seen are high-angle photos taken from what appears to be the passenger side of the vehicle, so that may well explain some of it. Still, it's a wonder there hasn't been more of an outcry from those whose pictures are seen plastered across a billboard. Though indeed, to confess to being the person in said picture would be about the same as a confession to an illegal act, so that may be keeping people's heads down in San Francisco, so to speak. This also isn't the first time that something like this has been seen happening, either; with places like New York already being seen doing this with its line of Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles, however, Singer may simply be ahead of the curve. It's hard to get behind doing the right thing the wrong way, however, as entire schools of philosophy have discovered, so it's easy to find oneself on either side of this argument. By encouraging others to join in, is Singer making a matter already a problem even worse? Or is Singer's plan to call attention to such behavior sound, and likely to achieve its goal and make us all safer in the process?

Public shaming may not be the best way to go about this, especially in what might well be considered a vigilante-style effort, and particularly from a Facebook executive, a company which has already been seen with a few peccadilloes regarding user privacy. Still, considering that the end result is really little more than an exhortation to put down the phone and drive, it's hard to fault the spirit of Singer's mission, even if the execution is a little less than optimal.