Distracted Driving Awareness

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

[email protected]