Johannesburg, South Africa – October 2025 – Driver distraction remains one of the leading causes of road fatalities in South Africa, with mobile phone use dramatically increasing crash risk. Yet despite the known dangers, the behaviour persists.
The statistics paint a grim picture. According to the International Transport Forum, South Africa has one of the highest road crash rates in the world, with about 25% of those crashes caused by using mobile phones while driving.
This Transport Month, Cell C is confronting this serious reality head-on: texting while driving kills, and the company that connects millions of South Africans daily is determined to break the habit.
The network operator has launched its Glass Posters campaign – a visceral visual experience now on display in Cell C stores across the country, designed to stop customers in their tracks and make them reconsider ever looking at their phones behind the wheel.
“We connect people – that’s what we do. But we also have a responsibility to protect them,” said Melanie Forbes, Cell C’s Chief of Marketing. “This isn’t just another safety message. We’re bringing this campaign into our own stores because we want every person who walks in to feel the weight of this choice. One text message is never worth a life.”
Created in partnership with visual artist Sandile Kgaphola, the campaign features haunting glass artworks that capture the devastating split-second consequences of distracted driving. The pieces are displayed prominently in Cell C retail locations nationwide, reaching customers at the very point where they engage with mobile technology.
Kgaphola added: “Art forces you to stop and feel something. These glass posters reflect the fragility of life – how quickly it can all shatter. If this work makes even one driver put their phone down, it’s succeeded.”
By rolling out the Glass Posters campaign in its stores nationwide, Cell C is taking an active stance in South Africa’s road safety crisis – not as a bystander, but as a company willing to challenge its own customers’ behaviour in the interest of saving lives.
