CHS campaign earns state honor

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

Chilhowie High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions club (formerly Students Against Drunk Driving) took second place in its division in state competition with its Have a Heart: Buckle Up, Drive Sober campaign, school resource officer Deputy Ernie Atwell said Monday.
“That’s not bad considering we were only in school three days out of the whole three weeks” of the Feb. 1-19 campaign, Atwell said.
Organized by the Virginia State Police-funded Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety, or YOVASO, the annual campaign promotes safe driving among young people.
YOVASO literature said the campaign’s goal “is to increase educational and awareness efforts about seat belts and impaired driving and to help students form lifelong safe driving habits.”
Schools were judged in two brackets based on enrollment. Judging was 50-percent based on the percentage of the student body signing pledge cards promising safe and sober driving and the number of events held to promote the theme, and 50 percent on the creative project.
Chilhowie’s creative project placed a wrecked car accompanied by heart-shaped signs. Dressed as crash test dummies Larry and Vince, club members handed out Valentines and “Buckle-Up” stickers and talked about the importance of seatbelts at Chilhowie Elementary School, Atwell said.
Chilhowie SADD received $200, T-shirts for club members, a congratulations banner, and a plaque, Atwell said.
The Chilhowie club took third place last year in the school’s first year competing in the program, with 401 of 425 students signing the pledge, or almost 96 percent, making the campaign “absolutely” a success, Atwell said at the time.
This year, with only limited time to conduct the campaign during rare days when school was open, SADD members prompted 69 percent of students to sign by going “table to table” in the cafeteria, Atwell said.
Atwell noted statewide traffic fatalities have fallen from 821 in 2008 to 750 in 2009.
“We’re glad it’s decreased and glad to say we had a part in it with what we do here at the school,” Atwell said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reported on Thursday highway fatalities in 2009 were at their lowest level since 1954.
“According to early projections, the fatality rate, which takes into account the number of miles traveled, reached the lowest level ever recorded,” the report said.
“This is exciting news, but there are still far too many people dying in traffic accidents,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Drivers need to keep their hands on the steering wheel and their focus on the road in order to stay safe.”
According to Atwell’s figures, in Virginia in 2008, 126 teens died in crashes, and 66 of them were not wearing seatbelts. Drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 were involved in 142 fatal crashes. Of those, 77 involved excessive speed; 66 were caused by driving off the road; 36 were alcohol related, and 31 were attributed to inattention and distractions.
Atwell said the school’s campaign next year will focus on reducing the incidence of distracted driving.

dkegley@wythenews.com