Cars are coming from the factory with an ever-increasing amount of advanced safety features to prevent accidents. Systems such as Toyota's Lane Keep Assist and Mercedes-Benz's Pre-Safe Brake take control from the driver in certain situations to avoid or mitigate collisions on the road. Infiniti's Backup Collision Prevention, which we wrote about yesterday, lessens the chance of fender-benders in your own driveway.

But the folks who see the carnage of car accidents, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, want to remind drivers that every car being driven on the road comes equipped with what can be the most advanced safety feature available: an attentive driver. In partnership with the Auto Alliance, the AAOS unveiled its 2012 public-service announcement, which urges drivers to "Decide to Drive,” and not get distracted -- and, going further, to not get lazy and rely on advanced safety systems.

"Decide to Drive and the 2012 safe-driver ad offer an effective message about the choices that all drivers can make while behind the wheel," said Dr. John Tongue, AAOS president. "I personally and firmly believe in this initiative, which warns all drivers about the threat of orthopedic trauma associated with distracted driving."

This year, the campaign produced a print advertisement that shows a woman unveiling a car with the message, "The most advanced safety feature this car has is the driver standing next to it." The ad will be distributed to more than 9,000 national and local media outlets and will be displayed in airports, shopping malls and bus shelters.

The Decide to Drive initiative, now in its third year, previously included a middle-school curriculum, a television PSA, a national driver-habits survey and billboards across the country. For 2012, the AAOS and the Auto Alliance plan to keep the dialogue going in an effort to help drivers keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

The campaign urges drivers to share stories of distracted driving and learn about the other components of the program, such as interactive maps and disturbing statistics on distracted driving, at decidetodrive.org. Drivers can continue the conversation on social media sites such as facebook.com/DecidetoDrive.org and twitter.com/decidetodrive. Of course, just don't do it while behind the wheel.