Each year, statistics are confirming that there is a distracted driving epidemic in the U.S.  According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, 9 people in the U.S. are killed each day as a result of crashes involving a distracted driver. Even more alarming is the rise in fatal crashes involving teens—driver distraction is responsible for more than 58% of teen crashes, and each day, 11 teens die due to texting while driving.

A group of students at Clark Community College in Vancouver, WA decided to remind their community that deaths and injuries from distracted driving are preventable. Their first-hand experience with close calls as pedestrians and witnessing drivers using their cell phones while navigating the parking lots and college streets spurred them into action. In order to help curb distracted driving around their campus, “We decided to have an awareness event in a high traffic area of our college because we knew it would get a lot of attention from students and faculty,” explained one of the organizers.

To increase the event’s impact, the student group researched organizations in Washington State for support and discovered Teens Against Distracted Driving (TADD) founded by Seattle attorney, Jason Epstein. TADD’s objective is to educate drivers about the dangers of distracted driving and promote safe driving practices, especially among young drivers. The program was proud to help sponsor the event at Clark Community College and provide educational materials for distribution.

The Vancouver Police Department showed their support by attending and helping the student organizers. Attendees responded positively to the awareness event, “We collected over 200 pledge cards from students and staff committing to.  The event was a big success!”

If you are inspired by the Clark Community College students and want to start your own campaign against distracted driving, our team wants to help. Please fill the contact form.