Recently, the members of Stafford TechnicalCenter’s Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program Chapter “Tied 1 On” all the vehicles in the student and faculty parking lots at Rutland High Schooland Stafford Technical Center to raise awareness of the dangers of texting while driving. The “Tie 1 On” Project consisted of placing a red card with some texting while driving facts, which was designed by Brian Ward of Fair Haven Union High School and Aaron Hildebrand of the Rutland Area Christian School , and a green ribbon, on each car’s windshield. The card told the driver to tie the green ribbon on the car to remind them and others not to text while driving. Recent studies have revealed that driving while texting is actually more likely to cause a crash than driving while intoxicated. As a result, the Vermont Legislature outlawed texting while driving for operators of every age.
The project director for this function was Megan Barber of RutlandHigh School; Aaron Hildebrand was the Assistant Project Director. Other members who were involved were Fair Haven Union High School’s Emily Newton, Dylan Goad, Stephen Marcoux, and Brandon Ellis, Poultney High School’s Alison DeRoy, Tyler Manning, and Kimberley Rupe, Otter Valley Union High School’s Kody Baker, Colton Benoit, and Porsche Lowell, Mill River Union High School’s Chelsea Fitzgerald, and Rutland High School’s Logan Clark, Bryan Raiche, Kayla Temple, and Vincent Venturella.