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SALT LAKE
CITY, Utah – April 21, 2008 –
Look to Live,
a new driver education video produced by
Operation Lifesaver, the national, nonprofit
rail safety education group, was unveiled today
in a speech by OLI President
Helen Sramek
to the Utah Driver and Traffic Safety Education
Association’s (UDTSEA) Annual Conference.
Approximately 300 members of UDTSEA, the
professional association representing traffic
safety educators throughout
Utah,
attended the conference. Sramek, the keynote
speaker, stressed the importance of including
instruction on safe driving practices around
train tracks in driver education curricula.
“Operation
Lifesaver’s goal is to make sure that every new
driver receives a powerful reminder that driving
safely around railroad tracks may save his or
her life,” Sramek continued. “With strong state
programs, a dedicated core of volunteers, new
technology, and reaching out to key driver
education organizations, we can maximize the
number of new drivers we reach.”
The
fast-paced video incorporates six on-the-road
scenarios that demonstrate the risks to teens
and the steps needed to drive safely at
highway-rail grade crossings. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration Fellow Todd Thoma,
MD, who also directs a Level I Trauma Center at
Louisiana
State
University,
also appears on the video talking about what can
happen when drivers let their attention drift
from the road even for “an instant.” Teen
drivers from
Independence,
Missouri,
were the actors who drove the vehicles.
Louisiana Operation Lifesaver Presenter and
Student Speech Contest winner Anna Pate narrates
the video, giving safety tips to young drivers.
This new
educational tool will be used by Operation
Lifesaver’s trained and certified volunteer
presenters when they speak to driver education
classes and organizations, Sramek said. She
noted that Operation Lifesaver reached nearly
200,000 new drivers through such presentations
in 2007. The video and a printable quiz for
students will be available at Operation
Lifesaver’s website,
www.oli.org,
so that many more new drivers have access to
this information online. In May, an interactive
quiz will be available at Operation Lifesaver’s
website for students to complete by computer.
“Utah’s
requirement of one hour of railroad crossing
safety training in its school driver education
instruction helps save lives,” said Sramek.
Look to Live
will help
Utah’s
educators meet their statutory
requirement.”
Operation
Lifesaver’s mission is to end collisions, deaths
and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and
on rail property through a nationwide network of
volunteers who work to educate people about rail
safety. For more information and safety tips
for motorists and pedestrians, log on to
www.oli.org.
For more
information about this video contact:
Marmie T. Edwards, APR (800) 537-6224 or
medwards@oli.org
.
(c) Operation Lifesaver, Inc. 1420 King St. # 401;
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-739-0284
Here's a great audio public service
announcement of particular interest to
Virginia's farm community, used with the
kind permission of Operation Lifesaver
Inc.! |
