Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann Friday honored 30 Indiana high school and college students who earned $5,000 scholarships by urging their social media followers to “Drive Now. TXT L8R.”
“A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-texting driver,” said Lt. Governor Ellspermann, who voted for the texting and driving ban while serving in Indiana’s House of Representatives. “Instead of making a tragic mistake behind the wheel, Hoosier high school and college students put their smartphones to good use educating others.”
Locally, Alexander Eib, Derek Johnson and Nathaniel Spangle from Triton Junior Senior High School were winners in the Most Retweets on Twitter in the High School Division.
During Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, the #TXTL8RIN appeared in more than 28,000 public tweets, which included 160 photos and video entries. Staff from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, Indiana Department of Labor, Indiana Department of Transportation and Indiana State Police tracked the posts and judged the entries that were the most creative.
Each of the 30 students will have $5,000 deposited into their CollegeChoice 529 savings plans.
The Indiana Department of Labor’s workplace safety and health consultation division, INSafe, was honored with a 2015 Onsite Consultation Achievement Recognition (OSCAR) award from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the “Drive Now. TXTL8R.” campaign and social media scholarship contest. This is the fourth time since 2008 INSafe has received this national award.
The “Drive Now. TXT L8R.” contest was funded through a federal grant given by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Winning entries may be viewed at www.in.gov/dol/2894.htm.
