Getting ‘The Last Word’ in Miami
May 6, 2011
Here’s an outstanding video that deals with the emotional aftermath of a father’s death caused by texting while behind it wheel. More of a short film than a PSA, the 4-minute drama takes its time getting to the point, but the payoff is powerful.
The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority paid for “The Last Word,” which was produced by Dade County-based ad agency Ronin Advertising Group. Kudos all around.
The short film anchors an MDX texting-and-driving pledge campaign, with more than 7,800 signees to date. The pledge goal is 1 million signees.
“What we’ve realized is that many of the campaigns out there focus on the driver’s perspective, said MDX’s Cindy Polo-Serantes. “What we’re trying to show is the aftereffect on one’s family.”
‘She took her eyes off of the road to see a text’
March 28, 2011
To the Tatum (Texas) High School student body:
“Leah Propes has phoned me this morning and asked that I share with you what she has now confirmed.
“
Lillian (16) was driving home from work and was texting while driving. There was no other car involved, Lillian was not under the influence of anything in her system but the crash happened simply because she took her eyes off of the road to see a text and answer a text. Lillian was texting someone she had just recently met.
“The Propes family asked that each of you, the Tatum High School family of students, faculty and staff take this tragedy of their precious daughter’s death as a screaming message from those who love you “Don’t text while you drive”; don’t text others when you know they are driving.
“We will remember Lillian as a member of the National Honor Society, a student athletic trainer, a yearbook staffer and a member of the One Act Play cast. She is a member of the Class of 2012 and was the only child of Tim and Leah Propes.
“Lillian has been a Tatum Eagle since kindergarten.
“Her body will be cremated and the family is having a private service.
“A memorial service will be held at Tatum High School Thursday, March 31, at 7:00 p.m.”
– Principal Debbie Maxey
‘Zits’ all thumbs with texting comic
March 23, 2011
The newspaper comic strip “Zits” is dedicating the week to the dangers of distracted driving.
You can view the strips on the “Zits” web site if you hurry.
The comic, written by Jerry Scott and illustrated by Jim Borgman, follows teenager Jeremy Duncan and his pals as they navigate the path to adulthood. Jeremy, typically, is struggling with the concept that you can’t text and drive at the same time. But so is someone else …
“Zits” appears in more than 1,500 newspapers.
‘If Lives Are in Your Hands … ‘
March 16, 2011
What if your surgeon decided to do a little text messaging while you’re there on the operating table? That’s the (rhetorical) question posed by short-filmmaker David McDonald, recently honored for the safety PSA video below.
McDonald, 24, won $7,800 (CAN) worth of filmmaking tools in the distracted driving category of a short-film contest sponsored by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
“I looked at texting and driving and what that really is — it is a dangerous thing operating a heavy vehicle that could kill,” McDonald told the Westminster News Leader on March 16.
Sen. Allan Kittleman, class clown
March 4, 2011
When Maryland legislators approved a texting and driving bill last year, they screwed up. The law banned writing and sending of text messages while driving, but not the reading of texts.
Drivers also were free to text away at red lights, with their motors running and transmissions in drive.
The well-intentioned legislators behind the Maryland texting law struggled with proper wording of a texting and driving bill, as have many other lawmakers nationwide. You’d think legislation designed to close these loopholes would sail through the General Assembly, but not this year.
Meet state Sen. Allan Kittleman, former minority whip and current class clown of the Maryland Senate.
As SB 424 neared a preliminary approval in the Senate, Kittleman decided to tack on an amendment that would have made it illegal to read a newspaper while driving. It was immediately rejected. Then he tried an amendment that have criminalized eating and drinking while driving. Another quick rejection.
“You can’t tell me it is more safe to hold some French fries and a Big Mac and Coke than it is to look down and read some text messages,” Kittleman said.
SB 424′s sponsor, Sen. James Brochin, responded, dryly: “Eating is not a cerebral event,” he said. “You just do it.”
Kittleman later explained that he’d filed the amendments in order to make a point about the folly of legislating distracted driving behaviors since they were too numerous.
He wasn’t really serious, he said.
Perhaps Kittleman would like to try out his comedy routine before the families of more than 380 people killed by distracted driving in Maine over the past five years.
Tough crowd, we hear.
Bieber stays the course with text pledge
February 2, 2011
Kid singing star Justin Bieber hasn’t forgotten about his promise to campaign against teenage texting and driving.
On a recent episode of “Makeover: Home Edition,” he found time to help the Brown Family of Wellman, Texas, whose daughter and sister Alexandra died in a crash caused by a texting driver.
“Makeover” built the family a new home while they went on a freebie trip to New York to meet Bieber and see his concert.
Alexandra’s kid sister Katrina, 12, got to hang out with the singer before the show.
“It’s been a big part of my life to influence others not to text and drive,” the singer told the Browns. Bieber then put his money where his mouth is by dedicating a dollar from every ticket sold to the Remember Alex Brown Foundation.
The family uses Alexandra’s wrecked vehicle to spread the word about the dangers of texting and driving, telling onlookers to “BUST or Buckle Up and Stop Texting.” Their new home was built last November and the show aired Jan. 30, with the Bieber/texting angle heavily publicized.
Bieber was one of the first celebrities to sign Oprah Winfrey’s No Phone Zone pledge. His concerts spread the word at every stop, as well.
FocusDriven video: Faces of the 5,500
January 20, 2011
On its first anniversary, the distracted driving victims advocacy group FocusDriven released this new 30-second PSA whose macro message is “How many more have to die?” It drives home the point that 5,500 people died last year due to inattentive driving.
FocusDriven president Jennifer Smith said: “In our new PSA, we want to remind people that each and every distracted driving fatality is someone’s loved one, and that person’s family is in tremendous pain.”
Keep up the good work, folks.
Our winner: Miss South Dakota
January 17, 2011
The reigning Miss South Dakota didn’t triumph at the Miss America Pageant, but she’s a queen on this blog.
Loren Vaillancourt lost her brother in a distracted driving accident. She made distracted driving her “cause” for the pageant, noting in the video below: “I want to be your next Miss America because I can save lives.”
Vaillancourt drew praise from DOT chief Ray La Hood, who blogged that she “has done a terrific job raising awareness among young people in South Dakota.” You can read posts of encouragement from her fans on this Facebook page from State Farm: SF Teen Driving.
(The new Miss America is Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan, whose platform was eating disorders.)
Meanwhile, belated congrats go out to Focus Driven’s Jennifer Smith, who was among the finalists for the 2010 Texan of the Year honor, organized by the Dallas Morning News. Smith has moved to Chicago, the paper said, but still considers herself a Texan.
Vaillancourt’s brother, Kelson, died in May 2009. He was a passenger in a vehicle that pulled out in front of a semi-truck near Huron on May 20. The driver also died. “No family should have to go through the pain my family has endured,” the beauty contestant said.
“Talking about my brother’s story over and over again has strengthened me,” Vaillancourt told the Argus Leader. “It’s given me an outlet and has opened doors for me that would normally not have been opened.”
Fighting driving & texting in style
December 9, 2010
Texas: Cell phoning, texting getting worse
December 3, 2010
Texting behind the wheel has gotten significantly worse in the past five years, say 85 percent of Texas drivers surveyed. 80 percent feel the same way about cell phoning while driving. This video from the Texas Transportation Institute runs down the numbers. (Read more about distracted driving in Texas.)