FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, July 29, 2011

Shaker High School in Latham served as the filming location last summer for four different videos featured on YouTube and the Department of Motor Vehicles' Younger Driver Web Site. Several Shaker students are featured in the videos currently being used to educate young drivers statewide. School staff and the students who participated in the creation of the videos were honored today with the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) 'Partners for Safety' award. This was one of three such awards presented this year.

"New York state has long been a leader in highway safety, and this level of excellence is achieved through the efforts of many," said GTSC Chair and Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Barbara J. Fiala. "I commend the recipients of this year's 'Partners for Safety' award for their continued dedication to keeping our roadways safe, and for assisting us in spreading our various traffic safety messages."

The video series was unveiled last October at the school during Teen Driver Awareness Week. Entitled "iDriveSmart", it was created specifically for teen drivers. Each video is approximately four to six minutes long and features teens talking about safe driving themes and demonstrating safe driving behaviors. The videos focus on topics including speed, distractions, inexperience and the importance of using seat belts. There is also a video for parents of young drivers.

WGRZ-TV 2 in Buffalo will also be recognized for its 2010 'Pledge 2 Hang Up' campaign. Under the direction of Executive Producer Athan Kompos, the station dedicated a half hour news program to the issue of distracted driving. A web page was created featuring resources for parents and teens and 'Pledge 2 Hang Up' pledge forms were distributed at local high schools.

On June 21, Spitzie's Motorcycle Center in Albany was presented with their award at the Motorcycle Safety press conference at the Crossings Park in Colonie. Spitzie's was instrumental in the development of the 'Learning is for Life' motorcycle video which was released last summer. The video is intended for use by traffic safety professionals, traffic safety boards, law enforcement, motorcycle rider organizations, motorcycle dealerships and other organizations that interact with motorcyclists on a regular basis to encourage rider education.

The GTSC started the 'Partners for Safety' awards program in 1996 to recognize voluntary contributions made by corporations, companies and organizations outside of government in the effort to prevent highway crashes and injuries, promote traffic safety, and make New York state a safer place to live.

For more information on the GTSC and the 'Partners for Safety' awards, please visit www.SafeNY.ny.gov.