McDonald County Teens Create Anti-Texting Video
S.A.F.E. GROUP HOPES TO DISCOURAGE OTHERS FROM TEXTING AND DRIVING
A group of McDonald County high school students have created a video they hope will discourage their peers from texting and driving.
The video, created by seven McDonald County S.A.F.E. (Seat Belts Are For Everyone) students, is aimed at helping others put down their cell phones while driving.
The video depicts teens out for a joyride, texting while driving, then wrecking their car. An ambulance with flashing lights roars onto the scene, with other local agencies quickly coming to the aid of the accident victims. Crew members pull one accident victim from the demolished vehicle. A firefighter and deputy city marshall bust through a back window, then saw off a car door to get to the second accident victim. The video shows one teen being loaded into a helicopter to be lifeflighted to a local hospital.
McDonald County High School teacher and advisor Deborah Shaffer said the idea for the video originated as a way to reach the student body.
“The team decided to do a public service announcement as another way to reach teens about the importance of buckling up. So they put together a script of the accident,” Shaffer said.
Students in the organization wrote, acted and shot the video. S.A.F.E. President Kalee Sweeten and Skylar Wright were the primary students who edited the project. The process took several months, Shaffer said.
To get the ball rolling, Sweeten enlisted the help of her dad, Gregg Sweeten, McDonald County Emergency Services director, to line out agencies to help stage an accident, Shaffer said.
“Mr. Sweeten went above and beyond and contacted everyone that would be called in the event of an accident,” Shaffer said. “In addition, he asked about a wrecked car that could be destroyed further in our video.”
Several local agencies were involved in helping create the video, including the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office, Pineville City Marshal’s Office, the Pineville Fire Department, local ambulance services, Missouri Highway Patrol, Gardner Towing — which donated the car — and Freeman Health System, which provided the helicopter.
Sweeten also helped in the video process, with a camera attached to a drone, she said. “I was amazed at the willingness of everyone to give their time,” Shaffer said.
The students utilized their drama skills and applied stage make-up to make themselves look bruised, cut, and bloody, Shaffer said.
The video has more than 9,800 shares and is posted on the high school’s website, various Facebook pages and YouTube.
To view the video on YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/aTCpQcAQYfs.