BROSELEY — Students at Twin Rivers High School were recognized Thursday for their efforts to combat distracted driving, earning second place in a statewide contest hosted by AAA Missouri and the Missouri Department of Transportation.
“I’m very proud of them. They went above and beyond, which is what you expect from Twin Rivers students,” said Superintendent Dr. Ben Johnson.
The school’s student body participated in AAA Missouri’s recent “Buckle Up Phone Down High School Showdown.”
“At AAA, we really identified a need for extended education when it comes to cellphone use while driving,” said Public Affairs Specialist Nick Chabarria.
“Missouri is in an unfortunate situation where we’re one of two states in the country that does not have an all-driver texting ban. Currently, it only applies to drivers age 21 and younger,” he added.
That law, Chabarria said, can send mixed signals to drivers.
“What we’re finding is the law sends the wrong message that once you turn 22, you can text and drive, and we know that’s not the case,” he said.
With that, AAA developed an educational program for young drivers and soon-to-be drivers, Chabarria said.
“What we really wanted to do was make sure we were talking to young drivers and letting them know these are the dangers, but also giving them the tools they can use to drive without cellphone distraction, and more importantly, they can speak up for others to do the same,” he said.
What AAA did, Chabarria noted, was create an educational video for faculty to show their students, but Twin Rivers took a different route.
“Twin Rivers was unique in the program in the fact that they had us come out and give a presentation in the gym,” Chabarria said.
After the presentation, students were asked to log into a special website to sign a virtual pledge to not drive distracted.
Pledge commitments, according to AAA information, included:
— Yes, I will drive without viewing or sending text or video messages; browsing the internet or social media of any kind.
— Yes, as a passenger, I will share the responsibility for arriving safely with my driver, speak up when I feel unsafe and offer help so my driver does not drive distracted.
— Yes, I will buckle up every time I am in a vehicle and ask others to do the same.
In its inaugural year, Chabarria said, 15 schools around the state took part, generating more than 4,200 safe driving pledges.
Twin Rivers High School saw 69% of its student body sign the pledge, said process coordinator WaWanna Nehrkorn.
“Our students were excited about it, and they enjoy activities like this,” said Nehrkorn.
For Johnson, it was more personal.
“It was great to really see that energy and excitement, and to be rewarded for something that was so important, and even near and dear to myself as a former law enforcement officer,” he said.
Twin Rivers’ total participation, Chabarria said, ranked the school in second place in the statewide student pledge contest.
A separate family/friends/faculty safe driving pledge contest was won by Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau.
During Thursday’s award presentation, Chabarria and AAA Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations Angela Nelson, along with representatives from program partner MoDOT, presented Twin Rivers with a check for $1,500.
Those funds, Nehrkorn said, will be used for further programming.
“We’re going to use some of it to take our kids to the (MoDOT) Traction Conferences, we’re going to use some to bring some resources in, and some to congratulate the students for doing the pledge,” she said.