Final answer:
The message 'Don't text and drive' employs pathos by evoking fear and concern about the physical dangers of texting while driving, aiming to alter dangerous behavioral patterns tied to habitual phone use.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'gadgets and gizmos are cool, but it's so not cool when they replace your limbs. Don't text and drive.' utilizes pathos as a rhetorical strategy. Pathos appeals to the audience's emotions, in this case invoking fear or concern related to the physical dangers of texting while driving. The image of gadgets replacing limbs is a persuasive emotional appeal designed to create a stark visual and emotional impact, thus dissuading individuals from engaging in the risky behavior of texting while driving. This emotional appeal is supported by research highlighting our habituated dependence on checking phones, known as 'event schemata,' that can make refraining from phone use while driving particularly challenging.