Be Alert!  April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.  On April 7^th, the Macksville High School S.A.F.E. Team (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) and their sponsor, Terri Renfro, along with Trooper Schawe, collaborated with the Macksville City Library to address the MHS student body on the hazards of texting while driving.

S.A.F.E. team is a part of the MHS FCCLA: Family Career and Community Leaders of America. Team members lead three different stations in this ‘Texting and Driving Extravaganza.’  Trista and Katrina showed videos which focused on the dangers of texting and driving.  Jarrod and MikealAnn led students in a Text & Drive Game show.  Kreed, Alex, and Andrew guided students in a driving simulator app where participants had to ‘drive’ on a busy street while answering a series of texts on a real phone.

Some statistics from the program:  According to the CDC, each day more than eight people are killed and 1,161 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.  When driving at 55mph, the distance one would cover when reading a text is at least one football field.  And, AT&T reports that seven out of ten people use their phones while driving.

Each student received a stylus pen with the phrase: Drive Now, Text Later.  And, students received No Texting and Driving pledge cards and hang tags, all courtesy of a grant that the Macksville City Library received from the South Central Community Foundation.  SCCF is a regional foundation that manages charitable funds for seven counties in south-central Kansas. We recognized SCCF and our local YMAD representatives (Youth Making A Difference), Lane and BreAnn at the program.  Brochures from the program and stylus pens will be available at the Library during the month of April to help spread awareness of the dangers of Texting & Driving–a growing epidemic which affects us all.

On behalf of all involved- it is hoped that everyone gets the message:  No Text is worth your life… or the lives of your passengers… or the lives of those with whom you share the road.