Students write, film, produce powerful new distracted driving commercial for DOT

It’s a powerful video. One that sends a message about being on your phone while driving.

The most powerful thing about the video, however, is who made it. The state of Wisconsin took notice.

Here’s the video from students at the Indian Community School in Franklin, Wis, that got the Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation’s attention.

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Wednesday, the DOT toured Wisconsin, including La Crosse, to showcase the new commercial, which was written, filmed and produced by students at Indian Community with the message, “Leave your phone alone until you get home.”

La Crosse Police Capt. Jason Melby hopes it will help.

“The amazing thing here is, this is a prime example of having kids come up with the message themselves,” Melby said. “Something that’s going to resonate with kids.”

Teens were involved in over 800 of the 4,200 distracted driving crashes in La Crosse County over the last five years. Statewide, teenage drivers make up less than 5 percent of the driving population, but are involved in 18 percent of all distracted driving crashes.

Melby says distracted driving seems to be getting worse and everyone has a story.

“Everybody out there who drives in La Crosse can think of times,” he said, “where they’re pulling up to a stoplight and they can see the person next to them, clearly has their phone up and is just working on it, sending a text message, doing something.”

There are 13 distracted driving crashes involving teens every day in Wisconsin during summer months, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.