MEDIA ADVISORY: Emergency Responders to Provide Up-Close Look at Harsh Reality; Full-scale mock distracted driving response for entire student body, Wednesday

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sgt. Charles J. Warner
Franklin PD Public Affairs
(615) 550-6821
cwarner@franklintn.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY

Emergency Responders to Provide Up-Close Look at Harsh Reality
Full-scale mock distracted driving response for entire student body, Wednesday

 

WHO:         Franklin Police Department; Franklin Fire Department; Williamson County Emergency Medical Services; Williamson County Schools; Vanderbilt LifeFlight (pending availability)

WHAT:        Full-Scale Mock Distracted Driving Response for Entire Student Body

WHEN:        Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 9:55 am

WHERE:      Franklin High School Rebel’s Football Field
810 Hillsboro Road, Franklin;

MEDIA CHECK-IN:
Enter Claude Yates Dr & proceed to north gate adjacent to softball field where students will assist with parking and registering media guests.

Franklin, TN – Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that’s enough time to drive the length of an entire football field, blindfolded.

According to the CDC, vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens, and distracted driving, as a whole, is on the rise. Distraction.gov cites 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 injured in 2012 in distraction-affected crashes.

You tell his mom you only looked down for a second.

You tell his mom you only looked down for a second.

Through a unique hospital and school-based collaboration, Franklin High School’s HOSA-Future Health Professionals has taken on a year-long, multifaceted distracted driving program: “Be In The Zone – Turn Off Your Phone” with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and sponsored by Ford Motor Credit Company Fund and Community Services and The Allstate Foundation.

On Wednesday, 04/9/2014, area emergency responders and Williamson County Schools will present a full-scale mock response to a simulated, but very realistic, distracted driving crash. The response will include vehicle extraction, rescue, along with ambulance and air medical transport. The event will take place in front of Franklin High School’s entire student body.

“We want to show students why they should stay off their phones and to know that distracted driving is equivalent to drunk driving,” said Rachel Caulkins, Franklin High’s HOSA President. “We hope that when our peers see the emergency responders, the grieving family, and the harm caused by avoidable, bad choices, it will leave a lasting impression – making them think about what might happen the next time they are driving and want to use their phone.”

News organizations wishing to cover this event are asked to confirm their attendance by 4pm Tuesday,
via e-mail to cwarner@franklintn.gov
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