Idaho High School Students Asked to Help Make Roads Safer

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) High school students in Idaho are being asked to come up with ideas to make roads safer through technology.

The Idaho Transportation Department is asking Idaho students to join in on the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology distracted-driving safety messaging challenge.

The event runs through November 18 and students could win $750 along with a scholarship from the University of Idaho's College of Engineering. ITD says students are being asked to submit social media posts and/or short video messages to help spotlight the issue of distracted driving.

For more information about the competition, including submission instruction, please hit this LINK

Last year, there were nearly:

• 5,500 distracted driving crashes in Idaho
• 51 of those were fatalities.
• 425 resulted in serious injuries.
• In the last five years, the totals are staggering: nearly 25,000 crashes, with 215 fatalities and more than 1,900 serious injuries.

According to statistics provided by ITD,  six out of every 10 teen crashes nationwide involve a distracted driver.