Matanzas students premiere PSA on texting and driving

Palm Coast Observer
News

Cell phones have become a part of everyday life for most students, and some find it hard to put the cell phone down, even in a moving automobile. But a group of Matanzas High School students is hoping to convince people that it can wait.

Matanzas High School students in Tracy Hicks' TV production class premiered their short public service announcement, called called “Is your LOL worth my Loss of Life?” on June 3, at Pirate Theatre. The video from the MHS class was supported and collaborated with the Flagler Schools, the Sheriff’s Office, Flagler County Fire Rescue, who supplied the students with a rescue helicopter, Flagler Sheriff’s Police Athletic League, the Chiumento Law Offices, and Florida Hospital Flagler, where most of the video was shot, according to Hicks.

“Before I started working at Matanzas, I wanted to make sure I was doing projects that had some type of value,” said Hicks, who had also previously been a part of the production industry for 17 years. “I have been lucky enough to be able to do these kind of projects that impact the community and send a message. … This isn’t just for teens, it’s for everybody.”

She said she began by recruiting students who would be motivated by the cause. She even brought back a student who graduated two years ago.

In the video, a teenage woman driving in her Honda Accord receives a text message and then picks up the phone to reply, “Lol.” Because she is solely paying attention to the cell phone and not her driving, she crashes into a man. The end of the video then shows the man dying because of her driving.

“I could relate to it,” said Kyle Darby, who graduated in 2013 from Matanzas and held the role of cameraman and mentor for the PSA project. “It wasn’t that hard to be able to construct a video because I know people who still text and drive. … The video’s supposed to have a meaning and be deep, and I’m personally blessed to have been able to work on something this important.”

“This is more than just about awareness to teenagers," says Geraldine Jeannot, who was the editor and co-director of the PSA. “This video goes out to everyone. This video shows that texting and driving doesn’t just affect the person driving the vehicle, it affects everyone around that person, too. Whether you’re a teenager, middle-aged, or older, everyone needs to know that this is a problem, and we could fix it and make an impact just by simply putting down the phone just for a little bit.”