Anderson Law Firm Sponsors Fall 2010 Teens Against Distracted Driving (TADD) Campaign: Over 5,300 Teens Sign Pledge!
As a personal injury and wrongful death lawyer, I recognise that one of the greatest dangers facing the youth of Fort Worth and the surrounding cities is themselves. Each day across Texas, millions of teenagers get behind the wheel of their car and text while driving. Every day they're putting their own lives - and the lives of countless others at risk. As it's a cause close to my heart, I promote Teens Against Distracted Driving (TADD) to educate young people on the dangers of texting while driving and get them to sign a pledge not to do it.
This fall, we worked with six Tarrant County High Schools to help raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. After sponsoring a successful contest last spring in several Fort Worth area high schools, Mark decided to bring back the contest for the fall as well. The schools that participated were: Haltom, Central, South Hills, North Side, Richland and Colleyville Heritage. Each school Student Council was given pledge cards and flashy orange bracelets that read I PLDG 2 NT TXT N DRV, and Students who signed the pledge received a free bracelet.
Haltom High School won this fall’s contest, with 73% of their student body making pledges to abstain from texting and driving. Haltom also won last spring’s contest, which makes them back-to-back recipients of the $500 cash prize. In order to show just how dangerous distracted driving is, the message must be repeated over and over since there are new drivers on the road every day. Haltom has done a great job in pushing students to be safe drivers, and will make the most progress in changing the bad habits of texting while behind the wheel.
The participating schools all used different methods to raise awareness to this dangerous and growing phenomenon. Several of the schools’ students made posters that promoted anti-texting and driving. Others gave startling statistics about the consequences of distracted driving through announcements broadcasted to the student body every morning. Some of the schools even showed informational videos. But most raised awareness the old fashion way, through personal interaction in between classes and at lunchtime. The techniques that the schools used were all effective, and I am proud that more teenagers were informed of the harmful repercussions that come with distracted driving. In all, pledges to not text and driver were obtained from 5,380 local students!
The results were as follows: Central High School with 47% of their student body participating, Colleyville Heritage High School with 40% participation, North Side High School with 42% of students pledging, Richland High School with 8% participation, and South Hills High School with 47% of their student body signing pledges.
I want to sincerely thank all the schools that participated, and hopefully the 5,380 students that made their pledge will wear their orange bracelets proudly to show that they will not become another statistic. Congratulations to Haltom High School again, and I hope that this sends a message out to all drivers, not just teen drivers, that distracted driving is an accident waiting to happen. Don’t be a cause of an accident that could have been prevented!
