Greeley High School Student Wins CDOT’s Distracted Driving Video Contest

There are so many ways to be distracted while driving. It would seem hard to believe that anyone hasn't had a moment while behind the wheel, where they realized they were not fully paying attention. When driving a car, it only takes a split second of being distracted for a crash to happen.

Since 2019 there has been a 37% increase in deadly crashes involving drivers under the age of 21 in Colorado. Law enforcement and transportation departments all over the country are constantly trying new campaigns and methods to get people to pay attention when they are being the wheel.

The Colorado Department of Transportation decided to get high school students involved in creating a video that could help prevent distracted driving among teens.

Students and their families recently joined CDOT at a Denver video production studio called Lumenati to debut the winning PSAs and celebrate the students who created them.

CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk said “students showed their artistic videography skills while enforcing the message that traffic safety truly is in your hands. Getting behind the wheel distracted increases the chances you won’t make it home safely. These students did a great job demonstrating the seriousness of the issue and helping raise awareness.”

A freshman from Greeley West High School named Kaileen Rudolph won the contest, being awarded $2000. She had an emphasis on using the Do Not Disturb feature while driving.

Check out Kaileen Rudolph's PSA video here.

(Contestants and families gathered in the Lumenati Productions warehouse in Denver for a tour of the production studio). 

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