#StopTheTexts with Project Yellow Light | Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Mom

May 5, 2015

#StopTheTexts with Project Yellow Light

Project Yellow Light #StopTheTexts

We live in a digital age where it's become difficult to be "unplugged." Thanks to phones, laptops and tablets, our information is always at our fingertips. We can google something in a moment's notice and check our email whenever we want. While this is quite a luxury, it has become a threat to our safety. 

It is terrifying to think that in just a few years, my oldest will be able to drive. It seems to far away, but I know it will sneak up on us. Teaching teens to drive in this new era of technology is no small feat, as we have to battle the danger of texting while driving. This is something that wasn't even an issue when we were teens! Yet, we as parents need to be mindful of instilling this very important lesson into our kids before it's too late.

This includes being an example ourselves!

Project Yellow Light is a national contest and scholarship program that calls on students to create short videos educating their peers on the dangers of using mobile devices while driving. According to a 2013 NHTSA report, ten percent of all drivers aged 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted. To further the reach and impact of the peer-generated content, NHTSA has partnered with the Ad Council to turn the winning videos into public service advertisements, which will be distributed to more than 1,600 media outlets nationwide.

“Distracted driving is deadly and young drivers are most at risk, so we need to make sure they get the message,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “The Project Yellow Light contest, which uses peer-to-peer messaging, demonstrates how creative public awareness efforts can reduce distracted driving on our roads.”

Winners were selected from two age categories: high school juniors and seniors, and college students. The high school grand prize was awarded to Marlowe Lexvold of South Haven, Minnesota. The college grand prize was awarded to brothers Sam and Wrenn Senser from South Bend, Nebraska.

The winning video:

Second and third place prizes were awarded to high school students Aneyza Clark of Dallas, Texas, and Ryan Robert Reid of Fairburn, Georgia, and college students Lindsey Brown of Culver City, California, and Tiago DeSouza of Hagerstown, Maryland. In addition to seeing their videos turned into PSAs, first place winners will receive $5,000 in college scholarship funding. Second-place and third place winners were awarded $2,000 and $1,000 scholarships, respectively. All scholarships were provided by Mazda Motorsports. U-Haul will also provide both first place winners with up to $2,500 in moving expenses.

You can view all the amazing winning videos HERE!




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