Marching while blindfolded, and driving with eyes glued to a cellphone: What do the two activities have in common?
The similarities will become glaringly obvious soon, when a new distracted-driving public-service commercial hits the airwaves on Cable One.
Four Prescott High School marching band members helped to illustrate the point this past week, when they gamely donned blindfolds before trying to play their musical instruments and march at the same time.
As expected, chaos ensued.
The bumping into each other and sour notes were all part of the act. Even so, the students found the blindfolds to be a major deterrent. Amid much laughter and some doubts about the lack of subtlety in the message, they agreed that the blindfold distraction made marching difficult.
‘NUMBER ONE IS DRIVING’
Chris Bridges, administrator of the Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization (CYMPO), said the TV commercial is the latest in a series of efforts by local officials to get out a crucial message about the dangers of distracted driving.
Although cellphones are the central focus of the pending commercial, Bridges said distracted driving comes in many forms.
Eating, talking, personal grooming, dealing with a pet, reading – they are all activities that can split the focus of a driver.
“Any distraction, you are essentially not watching the road,” Bridges said.
Yavapai County Supervisor Craig Brown, who serves as the county’s representative on the CYMPO executive board, sums the message up on the new commercial.
“At 50 miles per hour, one glance at your phone and you’ve traveled the length of a football field,” he says into the camera.
Off screen, Brown adds: “Every day, nine people die as a result of distracted driving. When behind the wheel, number one is driving.”
DISTRACTIONS CAUSE CRASHES
CYMPO, the region’s transportation planning group, began its campaign against distracted driving in 2016 with a series of TV commercials that equated driving to other activities that require concentration, such as flying a plane, conducting a surgery, and cutting down a tree.
Bridges said the campaign stemmed from an Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) report that listed distracted driving as one of the top reasons for crashes. Other factors in the crashes and resulting fatalities included speeding, seatbelt use, impairment, and motorcycle use.
After learning of the ADOT report, CYMPO staff posed a question to the organization’s executive board: “What can be done?” The board decided to focus on an education campaign about distracted driving.
The planning organization is partnering with Cable One to produce and air the series of commercials. Bridges and CYMPO Transportation Planner Bryn Stotler said Cable One is comping about $65,000 in assistance.
During the filming of the four PHS band members on April 6, Cable One’s Creative Director Krista Witherow and Producer Ken Anderson were on hand to guide the students through the steps.
Near the grassy entrance to the high school, sophomores Alora Zimmerman, Lila Keane, and Mia Davis, and junior Brian Van Vorst went through the steps, while Anderson filmed.
On cue, the students checked out their cellphones, played their instruments, and marched and played while blindfolded. They then went to board their school bus only to find their bus driver blindfolded as well. “The kids are dismayed,” the script reads.
Funding for the remainder of the ad campaign comes from Surface Transportation Program block-grant money, Bridges said.
In addition to the complimentary contribution from Cable One, the ad campaign contract is for $45,000, which covers a 12-month program, and the production and airing of six commercials. It also includes web-based marketing, which will target the commercials to cellphones, tablets, and Facebook.
The latest commercial could begin airing within the next week or so, Bridges said.
Source: Prescott Daily Courier
by Cindy Barks