Ohio teens can enter distracted driving video contest

Metro Creative Connection

By Staff report, The News-Herald

Facts about distracted driving

• More than eight people are killed and 1,161 are injured daily in incidents reported as distraction-affected crashes in the United States.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2015, there were 3,477 people killed and an estimated additional 391,000 people injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

• At any given daylight moment across America, about 660,000 drivers are using cellphones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010.

• In 2015, the National Occupant Protection Use Survey reported that handheld cell phone use continued to be highest among 16- to 24-year-old drivers.

For more information and statistics about wireless devices and driving, visit .

Source: The Federal Communications Commission

The Ohio Turnpike announced a contest for high school students to help encourage distracted drivers to kick their dangerous habit.

Students in grades 9-12 can encourage their peers to drive safely and win prizes by participating in the “W82TXT” video contest, according to a news release.

By producing and submitting a video, students can have fun by spreading awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and compete for prizes such as a GoPro video camera, Apple iPad and a $250 Amazon gift card, the release said.

“Distracted driving is becoming an epidemic on our roadways,” said Randy Cole, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. “That’s why I’m also pleased to also announce that we are bringing the Red Thumb Movement to Ohio, distributing 100,000 red thumb bands emblazoned with “W82TXT’ for drivers’ thumbs as a visual reminder to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.”

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety indicates new teen drivers are three times as likely as adults to be involved in a deadly crash during the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the release stated.

Videos must be submitted by July 4. Red Thumb bands will be distributed to northern Ohio high schools and at Ohio Turnpike customer appreciation events. Cole produced a video of his own to introduce the initiative.

For more information and contest rules, go to ohioturnpike.org/media/w82txt-video-contest.

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