Name: Emma Nicole Ainsley Brunner
From: Wenatchee, 4344
Votes: 3
When
I began to explore options for an essay topic, Distracted Driving was
one significant topic I felt compelled to write about, and passionate
to pursue.
Distracted driving is the practice of driving a motor vehicle while
engaged in another activity, typically one that involves the use of a
mobile phone or other electronic devices. For almost three
years, I have been researching, writing papers and searching for
grant funds to help bring awareness to those that do not know how
deadly distracted driving can be. Distracted driving is one of the
leading causes of car accidents for all ages, not just teens.
There have been challenges and achievements that have contributed to
my desire to shed light on this ever-growing epidemic of social
distractedness in our society.
There
are several statistics about distracted driving and how often
accidents take place in day to day life. According to the Washington
State Car Accident Statistics, in 2017 distracted driving was the
number one leading cause of car accidents resulting in 11,508
accidents, 87 of those resulting in fatalities. National statistics
are even scarier— stating that every year, on average, 421,000
people are injured in car accidents involving a distracted driver.
Each year, over 330,000 accidents or 78% of severe injury accidents
are caused by texting and driving. I wanted to change not only
Washington’s statistics, but make an impact on the national level
as well. That is when I became an advocate for distracted
driving education and awareness.
I
started this project as an unexperienced young driver at 15.
When I contacted personnel in the Department of Transportation in
Olympia, Washington, the person with whom I spoke told me that there
had not been enough fatalities to pursue the installation of road
signs across the state. That is when I got to work! With some help
from my mom and the rest of my family, I was awarded a $500
mini-grant from the Washington Traffic Commission. With this money, I
had to complete four action steps which included, make magnetic
bumper stickers and road signs that read “Stay
Alive, Don’t Text & Drive”,
bring in a guest speaker to educate my fellow classmates on
distracted driving, and develop two large banners explaining the
dangers of Distracted Driving to help bring awareness to the massive
problem in the U.S.
Distracted
driving education and awareness is gaining momentum. Since my
initial grant campaign, I have been contacted by the Wenatchee Police
Department, State Farm, Wenatchee and Cashmere School Districts and
the North Central Washington Association of Realtors. They have
joined forces to support my distracted driving campaign and we
recently submitted another grant to continue the efforts. In
2019, we plan to create a 30 second commercial on distracted driving
and use the video at local movie theatres to reach a large focused
audience during the 100 deadliest days of summer. This project
has taught me, that no matter what, if I see anything that needs to
be changed, I, too, can have a voice and can speak up. I do not have
to wait for more people to die or for a law to be passed to make that
change.
Distracted
Driving – How I made a difference in my high school:
I
impacted lives and made a difference in my high school by bringing
awareness to distracted driving. I submitted a grant to the
Washington State Traffic Safety Commission and was awarded a grant to
bring awareness to my high school about Distracted Driving. I wanted
to make more teens and adults aware of distracted driving,
specifically texting while driving. For the grant, I had to complete
5 action steps which included:
1. Creating
a car magnet that read: “Stay Alive, Don’t Text & Drive”
2. Organize
an all-school assembly with guest speaker Syd Muzzy who started 9-1-1
Driving schools, which principal Boyle said was “the best and
most impactful assembly yet”.
3. Develop
two large banners about “Distracted Driving Kills” and “Don’t
Text & Drive”!
4. Created
road signs to be placed strategically throughout my city.
5. Conducted
an opinion survey of students from my school regarding the dangers of
distracted driving.
My
project is expanding due to the interest from other associations,
state agencies and insurance companies that see the importance of
this campaign. I have recently been awarded $900 from the North
Central WA Association of Realtors (NCWAR) for my campaign to be
expanded to the Greater Wenatchee area where I will be working with
the Chief of Police. In the future, I plan to continue this project
along with my sister Millie. We plan to bring Distracted Driving
education and awareness to a broad sector of the community to reduce
the number of injuries and fatal car accidents from distracted
driving. Our project will complete three tasks:
Create
a 30 second YouTube video on distracted driving, use this video at
local theatres/cinemas to reach a large, focused audience during the
100 deadliest days of summer which could serve several thousand
students and over 175,000 movies goers and bring in expert speaker to
talk with local high schools on distracted driving. WE will make a
difference!
This
project has taught me, that no matter what, if I see anything that
needs to be changed, I, too, can have a voice and can speak up. I do
not have to wait for more people to die or for a law to be passed to
make that change.
Please watch the following 2 links for the finish project to
educate the public on the dangers of Distracted Driving.
Dear Mom and Dad: https://vimeo.com/329457321
Distracted Driving – Don’t Do It!: https://vimeo.com/329457781
Thank
you for your consideration,
Emma
Brunner
