|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2016 — The proliferation of mobile devices is creating a new pedestrian safety risk—distracted walking. That is why The National Road Safety Foundation, with Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, is looking for ideas from teens to help educate their peers and others about the risks of walking while using a mobile device. Entries are now open for the annual Drive2Life PSA Contest, with the theme “Distracted Walking = Dangerous Walking.”
The winner will receive a $1,000 prize and an all expenses-paid trip to New York to work with an Emmy Award-winning director to turn his or her idea into a public service message that will be broadcast nationwide next May during Global Youth Traffic Safety Month. Two runners-up in each grade category (grades 6–8, 9–12) will each receive $500.
“We hear a lot about distracted driving, but many of those same risks apply to pedestrians too,” said Michelle Anderson of The National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF), a non-profit group that creates driver safety programs distributed free to schools, police and traffic safety advocates. “More than 60 children are hit by cars every day and thousands of young people make unexpected trips to the emergency room due to injuries from walking while distracted. And when the interaction is with a motor vehicle, pedestrian injuries are often serious or even deadly.”
“Scholastic is pleased to have the opportunity to work with The National Road Safety Foundation to help bring important and meaningful conversations to classrooms and dinner tables around the country,” said Ann Amstutz Hayes, Senior Vice President of Scholastic National Partnerships. “It is our hope through this contest that students are more informed about the issues surrounding distracted walking, and the importance of sidewalk safety.”
Students in grades 6–12 are invited to submit a concept for a 30-second PSA to help prevent distracted walking. Submissions may be in the form of scripts or storyboards. No videos or group PSAs entries will be accepted. Entry deadline is Feb.3, 2017. For information, entry form and complete rules, visit www.nrsf.org/teenlane or www.scholastic.com/Drive2Life. No purchase necessary and void where prohibited.
The winning PSA will be broadcast in May 2017 on more than 220 TV stations on the nationally-syndicated program “Teen Kids News.” It will also receive widespread airings on local TV stations and online, and the winner will be profiled in select Scholastic Classroom Magazines, reaching nearly 5 million students and 50,000 teachers.
Last year, high school senior Jake Lundell, of Plymouth, MN won, besting a record of 1,586 entries. His idea, titled “Distractions Can Be Deadly,” is narrated by “Death,” dressed in black as he trails “Katie,” walking with her head down as she is on her phone. “Death” talks directly to the camera, explaining that life’s great for Katie—she’s class president, captain of the soccer team, and she just aced her SATs. “Death” mentions that Katie likes to text…a lot, as she begins to text while she is walking. Not looking, Katie almost walks in front of a passing car. “Death” pulls her back just in time. As she looks up, stunned by the close call, “Death” says to the camera, “I’ll give her today, but tomorrow… who knows?” The spot closes with the words: “Don’t let your smartphone out smart you.”
The National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. (NRSF) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit charitable organization that for more than 50 years has worked toward reducing crashes, deaths and injuries on our nation’s highways by promoting safe driving habits through greater public awareness. NRSF produces documentaries, educational programs and public service campaigns for broadcast and for use by police, teachers, traffic safety agencies, healthcare professionals, youth advocacy groups and other grass-roots related agencies, as well as federal, state and local government agencies. NRSF programs, which are free, deal with distracted driving, speed and aggression, impaired driving, drowsy driving, driver proficiency and pedestrian safety. The Foundation also works with youth advocacy groups and sponsors contests to engage teens in promoting safe driving to their peers and their communities.
###