Distracted Driving Prevention in Florida – Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation

War, Huh, Good God, What is it good for? - Ending Distracted Driving, yeah!

Now that April is over and distracted driving awareness month has come to a close, we wanted to give you an update direct from Bandana Army HQ! We have been pretty busy fomenting revolution over the last month, and so we felt it better to share the highlights of our crusade in one, all-encompassing blog post...

Participated in Distracted Driving Research Project

In the beginning of April, we were invited to participate in an distracted driving research project through the University of Florida. Their research is focused on determining effective strategies that have been proven to reduce crashes related to distracted driving among teen drivers. UF is working to create a computer-based training module that incorporates these proven strategies to help educate teen drivers. Team APB participated in a round-table discussion to address the limitations of data on distracted driving. Our day-long session was educational, insightful, and truly mind boggling in terms of the amount of research University of Florida has done on this issue. This may be the first time you hear us say it, but "Go Gators!" 🙂

Presented During the TCC Board of Trustees Meeting

TCC Board of Trustee Meeting On April 16th, APB Foundation was invited to present during the Tallahassee Community College's Board of Trustees meeting. We used the time to discuss the past and future work we have done in partnership with the college, and the legacy Anthony's Revolution is leaving. This work would not be possible if it were not for Reggie Grant (pictured). Reggie is a journalism professor at TCC who truly goes above & beyond the call of duty and has been an instrumental proponent in the fight to safer roads in Florida. He's led the charge on working with his mass communication students to develop semester long campaigns that attack the issue of distracted driving. More elaboration on those efforts below...

Safe. Not Sorry. Traffic Safety Event

Tallahassee Community College (TCC) hosted a traffic safety event on April 17. The event was aptly titled, “Safe. Not Sorry.” and it attracted a bunch of great exhibitors and students! Traffic safety organizations such as Florida SADD, Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition, and MADD showed support while Leon County EMS, Leon County Sheriffs, and Tallahassee Police Department, showed off some of their equipment. The Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles brought a driving simulator, IMPAACT brought a wrecked car, and we brought revolution! We met some great people and made some new friends. We shared Anthony’s story and gave away a bajillion stickers. It was a truly a great day in the world of distracted driving prevention!

The whole thing was organized by Reggie Grant. The Safe Not Sorry event was the culmination of a semester-long project for which his students did much of the work. They used the skills acquired in the classroom to raise awareness and save lives in the real world! Last semester, we worked with the students in his class to create a mass media marketing campaign to attack the issue of distracted driving, #BecauseAnthony. Each semester we take the revolution to end distracted driving to new levels with his class - we look forward to continued work together! You can view some of the event press coverage here.

Attended the 2018 Lifesavers Conference in Texas

Next, APB Foundation was on the move to San Antonio, Texas where we attended the Lifesavers conference, hosted by the National Safety Council (NSC). Lifesavers is the biggest traffic safety conference in the country and attracts researchers, law enforcement, public health and safety professionals, advocates and vendors from all over the USA. Let's put it this way: If they were handing out a medals for most workshops attended related to distracted driving, APB Foundation would have definitely made the podium! It was an incredibly enlightening and a wonderful networking experience. At the high level, the NSC is working toward Vision Zero - an initiative to eliminate all traffic-related deaths. The Road to Zero is something we greatly support, because no one should lose a loved one to a road tragedy.

Keep following our journey as we work together to end distracted driving, #BecauseAnthony.