http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCVZqeAGY-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN1eljqxs44

I often see these two AT&T commercials on the television. It breaks my heart to watch them, and I sometimes start to tear up. Nobody expected or wanted these things to happen, but unfortunately they did. Accidents affect the drivers and victims. Everybody have a safe, happy holiday!

Dell Transportation's Safe-driving Technology

In our own town, efforts have been made to keep school buses and the students in them as safe as possible while the bus is in motion:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/11/prweb11356177.htm

Commenting on the blog

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Didn't See it Coming

A good warning from Minnesota. Share this with the teens you know who drive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kvqw0ExM7k

This time of the year, we are all busy with the preparations for the upcoming holidays.  Cooking, baking, Christmas trees, shopping, etc.  Sometimes the stress gets the better of us, maybe we don't think about the fact that this is also the time of the year when it's darker than usual while a lot more people are out and about.  So, slow down. Take your time. Arrive alive and enjoy the holidays with near and dear ones.  And remember, 20's plenty where people live.

"The Last Text" A Dance by Abby Lee Miller

This is a dance that shows the effects of texting and driving expressed through movement, rather than words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuSDGbTR9VA

Be S.M.A.R.T.!!!

Most people have probably already seen the Be S.M.A.R.T. signs around town.

Safety Matters. Act Responsibly. Tell Your Friends!

Safe Drivers Make Good Neighbors!

This campaign was developed by Police Commissioner Dave Franklin with the help of the members of the PortWparents yahoo group.  A contest was run to select a safety slogan for the PWPD.  There were many entries and two slogans were morphed together by Jo McGinty and Steve Kaplan to create the Be S.M.A.R.T.  slogan.  Thank you to everyone who suggested slogans and voted in the contest!

Our current ideas

We, along with members of the community who attended our first meeting, and our school Principal, have already come up with some ideas about how we will raise awareness about the need for safer driving habits in our town.  Here are just a few of our current ideas.  Please comment on this thread if you have other ideas.

1. Developing a slogan contest at Weber Middle School.
2. Purchasing anti-texting give-aways.
3. Encouraging the formation of community task forces to help accomplish specific goals.
4. Inviting national speakers to a Port Washington community forum.
5. Developing various no texting campaigns and contests with local children.
6. Highlighting safe driving initiatives through working with local politicians.
7. Partnering with the police department to promote safe driving.

But first...some words of thanks.

Thank you to those community members who attended our first community brainstorming session--Mr. Ericsson, Mrs. Sinoway, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Benedetti, Mr. Franklin, Mrs. Wilson-Pines, Mrs. Guzzo, and Mrs. Muratore.  Thank you to Mrs. Sinoway for hosting the meeting at her shop. Thank you to the Weber Middle School Principal, Mrs. Rodahan, for meeting with us and sharing ideas. Thank you to Commissioner Dave Franklin for starting the safe driver initiative with the input from the parents of the PortWParents Yahoo Group.  Thank you to our troop leader, Mrs. Nutter, for helping us get organized. Thank you to Ms. Rivera-Downey of Girl Scouts of Nassau County for giving us direction about blogs and how they work.  Thank you in advance to all of you who will join with us in the future to make Port Washington a safer place to live and drive.

Welcome to Our Blog!

Welcome to our blog! We created this blog to act as a clearinghouse for news, information, and ideas surrounding safe driving in our community. We'll be updating the blog frequently, and adding videos, stories, ideas and information to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. We invite you to add to the conversation by posting your thoughts here.  If you go to the bottom of the blog, you will see that you can subscribe to blog posts.  This will allow you to get posts in your e-mail.  Otherwise, you can visit us here as often as you'd like!