Schools

Danbury High a Top-Ten School for Safe Driving

Danbury High School was named about an elite group of 10 high schools for a video students created to encourage safe driving.

Danbury High School is ranked among the top 10 finalists in a statewide effort to promote safe teen driving sponsored by Travelers Insurance and supported by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

To reach the top 10, Danbury and 164 other schools created a video along the theme “Make the Right Choice.” Governor Malloy, state commissioners and Travelers executives narrowed the field of 164 schools down to 10. The top three winners will be named on April 4, and a cash prize will be given to the three schools to promote safe driving.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles created the event, called “From the Driver’s Seat to the Director’s Chair,” to encourage school students to think about safe driving and create promotional videos.

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“The contest is one of the many ways we need to reach out in our state to young drivers and show how safe driving will save their lives and help to reduce crashes, injuries and deaths,” Malloy said. “The creativity in these videos and the use of technology by students presents a strong message on safety and it’s done by teens talking to teens.”

This year’s contest encouraged students to explore risks teens take when driving and the consequences of both good and bad choices. Videos ranged from topics related to passenger safety, speeding and drinking and driving to text messaging, curfew violations and distracted driving.

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In addition to Danbury High School, Woodbury’s Nonnewaug High School also ranked in the top 10, as did schools in Willimantic, Mancheser, Durham, Madison, East Lyme, New London and West Haven.

Motor vehicle crashes nationally are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds, causing roughly one-third of all deaths for this age group. Among the risk factors is overconfidence and risk-taking. Safety advocates believe Connecticut’s toughened teen driving laws are beginning to have an effect. From 1997 to 2008, the number of 16 and 17 year old drivers in Connecticut who were involved in fatal crashes averaged about 16 per year. For the period following the August 2008 imposition of tougher teen-driving laws, restrictions, penalties and fines for teen drivers, that number dropped by 62 percent at the end of 2009.

 


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