safety education -

Yesterday, AT & T brought their “It Can Wait” anti-distracted driving demonstration by Golden Valley High School in Merced.  500 or so seniors took part in the event, which found speakers stressing to students the importance of always exhibiting restraint when tempted to text at the wheel.  Representatives of the local police department were also on hand to explain the results of the various enforcement efforts in place to root out texting and cellphone usage while driving.  This year already, Merced PD has issued 214 cellphone citations to drivers, while another 39 people were fined for texting and driving.  In addition, a handful of students were able to test out a texting simulator to see how their driving skills stacked up.  Not surprisingly, driving ability was severely compromised.

Click to learn more about the anti-distraction presentation.

Recently, students of the Fontana Unified School District were able to participate in an event that sought to drive home the dangers presented while texting or talking on a cellphone at the wheel.  Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol helped put on the event, which found teen drivers attempting to navigate an obstacle course while fielding phone calls and text messages.  Not surprisingly, numerous cones were struck by those attempting to conduct both tasks at the same time.  Instructors sought to impress upon students the idea that those cones would stand in for pedestrians and vehicles out in the real world.  Students were provided with this opportunity as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to make Distracted Driving Awareness Month count.

For more information, click here.

Every 15 Minutes dropped by Lodi High School last week in a bid to educate teenagers about the real world ramifications of texting and driving and drunk driving.  Throughout the day, a designated Grim Reaper wandered through the halls to pull a student out of their classroom at 15 minute intervals.  That teen would then be considered dead in order to emphasize that a teen loses their life to things like texting or intoxicated driving every quarter hour.  At the close of the day, the remainder of the students were assembled to watch emergency officials respond to a mock car accident that sought to further drive home just what toll texting or intoxication can have on human life.

Click here for more about the event.

A Georgia Bikes! grant has allowed the League of American Bicyclists to teach five experienced cyclists about how they can train others on bike safety in Augusta.  The three day curriculum was focused on how to navigate in traffic, in groups, and what steps to take to ensure safety in general when riding to your destination.  Upon completion, the persons who submitted to this training gain access to League educational materials which they can use to put together cycling classes for interested members of the community.  Such classes can be geared toward cyclists, drivers, or children, and a wide range of skill training can be offered.

Click here for more information.

Hundreds of students and faculty at a Tennessee high school have signed a pledge not to text while driving. A Criminal Justice teacher and her students at Cleveland High School successfully led a drive to get signatures affixed to a “No Phone Zone” written pledge.  The effort resulted in almost 1,000 signatures. The teacher also secured a grant from Toyota to fund a distracted driving course at the school on Saturday, September 29.

Click here to learn more about this effort.

An abundance of automobile crashes at South Carolina’s Beaufort High School prompted the principal to intervene on behalf of safety.  Students now have to take a safety course called “Alive at 25” in order to earn the privilege of leaving their vehicles in the student parking lot at the school. Schools across the nation have adopted this program.  In Oklahoma, almost 2,000 students have submitted to the program already.

Follow this link to learn more about the course.

A new docudrama by an award-winning filmmaker vividly portrays the tragedy that can result from distracted driving. To produce the film, the director employed twenty students from Pine Lake Prep School in Mooresville, North Carolina. Viewers have found the film to be so realistic in its presentation that some have even believed the vehicular accident depicted is real.  Everyone involved has high hopes for its effectiveness in cautioning drivers to be safe on the road.

To learn more about this docudrama, click here.

The Wisconsin State Patrol is making sure that the consequences of texting while driving are well known to high school students in the state. AAA and AT & T will aid them in their efforts to end texting while driving. Thus, high schools in Burlington, Racine, Wausau, La Crosse, Eau Claire, and Madison will host anti-distracted driving events from the aforementioned agencies. It is against the law to text and drive in Wisconsin and 36 other states. A fine can run an offender $400.

Click here to learn more about these efforts.

16% of all accidents caused by distracted driving happen to people younger than 20. The Illinois State Police recently set up a simulation in Quincy so that teens could see what might happen to them if they’re texting while driving. Miss Illinois participated and crashed into a truck while typing “hello.” The Illinois police want people to understand the practice is not only dangerous, but it’s against the law for all drivers throughout the state.

Click here to learn more about the event.

The Motor Vehicle Administration and a group called Shock Trauma worked together to create a video to educate people about the dangers of texting while driving. According to the article, police have begun to pull over many drivers they see texting and driving in Maryland. Although young drivers are the main target of the video, distracted drivers can just as easily be adults behind the wheel.

Follow this link to learn more about the video.