Canadian High School Students Help Put the Brakes on Distracted Driving
Allstate Canada announces winners of the Just Drive Canada Contest
TORONTO, ON— January 20, 2015— In Canada, car collisions are the leading cause of death among teenagers and it’s estimated eight out of ten collisions are caused by distracted drivers. Distracted driving now exceeds drunk driving, in traffic related fatalities in this country, yet 90 per cent of Canadian drivers admit to driving distracted[1].
A recent survey conducted by Allstate Insurance Company of Canada revealed that almost 40 per cent of Canadian drivers check their phones when stopped due to traffic delays. And drivers, age 18 to 34, were nearly three times more likely to send a text while stopped at a red light than older drivers.
That’s why Allstate Canada launched the national Just Drive Canada campaign: to help equip high school students, their parents and teachers, with the knowledge and tools to become smarter drivers and encourage them to actively speak out on the issue. As part of that campaign, the Just Drive Canada Contest, now finishing up its third year, encouraged teens to enter an original video, audio recording, image or poster, giving distracted drivers a piece of their mind, for a chance to win a cash prize for themselves and their school.
During the six-week entry period, October 7 to November 14, 2014, the Just Drive Canada contest generated 58 entries. And when public voting for favourite entries ended on December 26, 2014, a total of 31,500 votes were submitted.
“We were impressed by the creativity, quality and originality of the entries we received this year. Each one was unique, yet they all shared a common message, that distracted driving is dangerous and can have deadly consequences,” says Ryan Michel, senior vice president and chief risk officer for Allstate Canada. “Allstate’s hope is that through this contest, teens will not only think differently about their own driving behaviour, they will help spread the message to their parents, peers and community, that distracted driving has real consequences, and that it’s time to put down the phone and give driving your full attention.”
And now, here are the 2014 Just Drive Canada Contest winners:
Video
First place
“One Minute of Your Life is not Worth Your Life in one Minute”
Charles Huang, Elyse Wall, Zachary Allan and Mathias Morowat
McRoberts Secondary School
Richmond, BC
$1500 prize plus $1000 to the school
Runner-up
“Distracted Driving will get You Carried Away”
Omar Adnan, Sahaj Chopra, Milan Sahni and Hyeon Yu
Lillian Osborne High School
Edmonton, AB
$1000 prize plus $500 to the school
Audio
First place
Connor Jones
Blessed Trinity Catholic Secondary School
Welland, ON
$1000 prize plus $500 to the school
Runner-up
Bill Chen and Amanda Wong
Robert Cecil Palmer Secondary School
Richmond, BC
$500 prize plus $250 to the school
Picture
First place
Jessica Di Pasquale
Blessed Trinity Secondary School
Grimsby, ON
$500 prize plus $250 to the school
Runner-up
Kiki Di Pasquale
Blessed Trinity Secondary School
Grimsby, ON
$250 prize plus $125 to the school
In order to help students share their message, schools were also encouraged to get involved. Judges took into account the number of entries and votes that came in from each school, as well as the quality of submissions to determine the most engaged school as the Just Drive Canada School Spirit Prize recipient.
For the third-year in a row, the recipient of the school spirit prize is:
School Spirit Prize
John Paul II Secondary School in London, Ontario
$2500 to the most engaged school
Judging occurred in two stages including online public voting on all contest entries from November 17 to December 26, 2014, followed by review from a panel of judges including television personality Phoebe Dykstra; Montreal Impact Captain, Patrice Bernier; retired police officer and co-founder of Accident Awareness, Bob Annan; acting Police Sergeant and co-founder of Accident Awareness, John Hinds; Deputy Chief of Camrose City Police, Lee Foreman; Director of Corporate Relations with Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, Karyn Toon.
Additional information about the contest, including voting process and rules and regulations, can be found at justdrivecanada.ca, facebook.ca/justdrivecanada and Twitter.com/JustDriveCanada. More information about the contest judges can be found here. All contest entries can be seen at www.justdrivecanada.ca.
About Allstate Insurance Company of Canada
Allstate Insurance Company of Canada is one of Canada’s leading producers and distributors of home and auto insurance products. “The Good Hands Network®” enables consumers to contact Allstate Canada through one of 85 community-based Agencies, directly online at allstate.ca and through the Customer Contact Centre at 1-800-Allstate. Allstate Canada is committed to making a positive difference in the communities in which it operates and has partnered with organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD Canada), Crime Stoppers, United Way and Junior Achievement. Allstate Canada has been working with Accident Awareness to educate teens and young drivers on the dangers of distracted and dangerous driving since 2013. Together, the organizations offer free in-school presentations for high schools across the country. To learn more about Allstate Canada, visit allstate.ca and justdrivecanada.ca.
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For further information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Media Contact
April Gibson
Thornley Fallis Communications
416-515-7517 ext 323
gibson@thornleyfallis.com
[1] Distracted Driving Survey 2013, by Abacus Data for Allstate Insurance Company of Canada.