The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University recently obtained a $75,000 grant from Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services for its “Be in the Zone” teen safety initiative to deter texting while driving.
The educational drive, launched by the hospital's Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention Program, seeks to raise awareness about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel, a Vnaderbilt release said. Vanderbilt officials cited statistics revealing that the nation experiences nine fatalities and over 1,000 injuries on a daily basis.
“As a hospital, we are playing a pivotal role in addressing this growing issue of distracted driving. Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services has been a great supporter of our ‘Be in the Zone – Turn Off Your Phone’ campaign,” Purnima Unni, who manages the hospital’s pediatric trauma injury prevention program, said in the release.
Jim Graham, who manages Ford’s Driving Skills for Life series, noted in the release that the program has partnered with Children’s Hospital for over six years, commending the positive impact it has had on newly-licensed drivers.
“The goal of this campaign is to address the issue of texting while driving among our teens (and) their local communities,” Unni said in the release. “Without Ford’s continued support, we would not be able to spread this important message across multiple high schools and counties.”
