Statewide Destination Zero Deaths Distracted Drivers Contest
Statewide DZD Safety Coalitions Teaming up to Combat Distracted Driving
On May 3rd , 2021 the Destination Zero Deaths Regional Safety Coalitions announced that they will host a statewide distracted driving contest for high school and middle school students. The contest involves students creating a video or meme to educate their peers and community about the dangers of distracted driving.
Louisiana established its SHSP (Strategic Highway Safety Plan) in 2005 to help reduce fatalities and serious injuries by half on our roadways by the year 2030. According to the latest data, 186 people were killed in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2019 and 479 people were seriously injured. Texting while driving is an especially problematic trend among younger drivers who accounted for 16% of the distracted driving deaths on our roadways in 2019.
On our mission towards Destination Zero Deaths, our supporting partners include the Acadiana Regional Transportation Safety Coalition, Capital Region Transportation Safety Coalition, Cenla Highway Safety Coalition, New Orleans Regional Traffic Safety Coalition, Northeast LA Highway Safety Partnership, Northshore Regional Safety Coalition, Northwest LA Transportation Safety Coalition, South Central Regional Safety Coalition, Southwest Louisiana Regional Safety Coalition, AAA, Farm Bureau Insurance, and the Louisiana Planning Council.
In 2019, the Acadiana Regional Transportation Safety Coalition hosted an areawide distracted driving meme contest that awarded first place and runner up prizes to local high school students at Lafayette High School and Berwick High School. Acadiana Safety Coordinator Ron Czajkowski and Southwest Safety Coordinator Amber Ashworth worked with Acadiana Open Channel to produce a video of local high school students to promote the contest: https://youtu.be/iSY-ban5UyU Students may apply for the contest here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1K7mlOaTzS8tES6en-Qh3NstF1UzF4Po1
For more information on how to join statewide efforts to help reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities on our roadways caused by distracted driving and to help us meet Destination Zero Deaths goal, please visit www.destinationzerodeaths.com