Malloy Judges Coginchaug Video on Teen Safe Driving

A public service video about teen driving safety created by students at Coginchaug High School was rated among the best in the state and could earn the school thousands of dollars to help promote teen safe driving.

On Monday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy joined Travelers executives, state commissioners and other safety advocates to judge the Top 10 finalist video entries in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ contest, “From the Driver’s Seat to the Director’s Chair."

The winners of the contest will be announced on April 4, during an awards ceremony in Windsor.

“This contest is one of the many ways we need to reach out in our state to young drivers and show how safe driving will save their lives and help to reduce crashes, injuries and deaths,” Malloy said. “The creativity in these videos and the use of technology by students presents a strong message on safety and it’s done by teens talking to teens.”

This year’s contest, themed “Make the Right Choice," encouraged students to explore risks teens take when driving and the consequences of both good and bad choices.

A total of 164 videos were entered into the contest, compared to 79 entries last year according to the DMV.

Schools ranking in the Top 10 are (alphabetically):

• Arts at the Capitol Theater magnet high school, Willimantic.
• Cheney Technical High School, Manchester
• Coginchaug High School, Durham
• Danbury High School
• Daniel Hand High School, Madison
• East Lyme High School (2 entries)
• Nonnewaug High School, Woodbury
• The Williams School, New London
• West Haven High School

Travelers will award $4,000 to the school of the first place winner, $3,000 to the second place winner’s school and $2,000 to the school of the third place winner. The money will be used to promote teen driving safety in schools.

The winning videos will also be shown on state and highway safety advocate websites, as well as offered for airing in movie theaters, television stations and online video sites such as YouTube and Facebook.

Since tougher teen driving laws were enacted in 2008, the number of fatal crashes involving 16 and 17 year old drivers has dropped by more than 60 percent from the previous decade.