The Richland County Injury Prevention Team was supported by Blue Rock Companies this spring in conjunction with their 100 year celebration and their efforts in bringing awareness to the dangers of Texting & Driving. Blue Rock Companies purchased “thumb rings” for every high school student in Richland County. The Richland County Injury Prevention Team developed a “visor card” to attach the “thumb rings” that provided alternatives to texting while driving and a “Teen Driver Brochure”.
Park your phone, drive your car; find your app, these apps prevent use of cell phones while driving; designate a texter, let a passenger do your texting while you do the driving.
Did you know: The choice to use a cell phone while driving, even hands-free, is estimated in several studies to increase your chance of a crash by 400-500 percent? When you take 5 seconds to respond to a text at 55 mph you just took your eyes off the road and covered 100 yards? Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 killer of 16-20 year olds?
Buckle up & Phone down
Mary Friesz, Injury Prevention Specialist did a short presentation and distributed the items at the Fairview High School to the freshman and sophomores. The administration distributed them to the junior & seniors. Kathy Helmuth, RCHD and a member of the Injury Prevention Team & Suzzanne Wright, RCHD did a presentation at the Lambert High School to both Jr. High & High Schools Students and their parents. The Student Council at Sidney High School was presented with the items and they brought awareness through their daily announcements and handing the items out to all high school students. Savage High School was presented with the items and distributed them.
Thank you to Blue Rock Companies and our local high schools for bringing awareness and education to our community and making it a safer place for all of us.
The Richland County Injury Prevention Team will continue to work at bringing awareness and education to the public on the dangers of Distracted Driving through articles, their webpage on the new Richland County website and on the RCHD Facebook page. The team is also available for safety meetings and other group meetings and have presentations prepared for, Safe Driving, Winter Driving, DUI Awareness & Personal Safety Awareness… but are also flexible to your needs and the needs of the community.
Watch for more information on their upcoming quarterly meeting in July. The team will be showing “Cops n Docs”, the documentary the DUI Task Force developed and aired over MidRivers in March. They will also be presenting “Certificates of Appreciation” to those who showed support this past year. The team will also share this years Fiscal End of Year Report and the upcoming Fiscal Year’s Work Plan. If you are interested in making a difference in your community please contact Mary Friesz, Injury Prevention Specialist at the Richland County Health Department, 406-433-2207.
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