Danielle Salinas, 15, wins $1,000 scholarship, trip to traffic safety conference in Maine
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – NEW YORK, July 8, 2013 — Danielle Salinas, a student at Oakland Bay Junior High School in Shelton, Wash., has been named the winner of the third annual JST DRV Distracted Driving PSA Competition, sponsored by the National Road Safety Foundation and NSSP (National Student Safety Program), the youth arm of the American Driver& Traffic Safety Education Association.
Danielle, 15, wrote and submitted a 30-second radio public service announcement that will receive nationwide airplay on radio and the internet. The JST DRV PSA Competition invited teens to submit a Public Service Announcement that talks to teens about the risks of distracted driving.
Danielle developed the winning entry as part of her activities on the texting and driving committee of her local SADD Chapter. The faculty advisor, Gerald Apple, arranged for Danielle and fellow committee members to record the spot at the local radio station, 1030 KMAS. Danielle, who will be attending Shelton High School in the fall, said she wants to study communications in college.
She won a $1,000 scholarship from The National Road Safety Foundation and an expenses-paid trip to the NSSP national youth conference later this month in Portland, Maine. Her winning PSA will be presented to dozens of young people from throughout the U.S. who will be at the conference.
“The goal of the JST DRV PSA Competition is to engage young people in communicating important messages to their peers in their own voice about distracted driving,” said David Reich, public relations director of the non-profit National Road Safety Foundation, which produces traffic safety education programs that it distributes free of charge to schools, police, parents and youth advocacy groups.
Studies show a quarter of all teens admit to texting behind the wheel. The highest proportion of distracted drivers in fatal crashes was under the age of 20.
The runner-up, who receives a $500 prize, is Andrew Mayden, 14, a student at Newkirk Public School in Newkirk, Okla.
The National Road Safety Foundation also sponsors the Drive2Life PSA Contest, which invites teens to submit ideas for a TV public service spot on driving safety. For details on both contests and to hear the winning PSAs, visit www.nrsf.org.
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