Irvine Teen Wins Distracted Driving Video Contest

Over 400 videos were submitted that were aimed at discouraging distracted driving amongst not only teens but anyone with a driver’s license. The winning video showed everyone that distracted driving equals driving while wearing a blindfold. The video continues to show us life behind a blindfold. An Irvine teen wins distracted driving video contest.

The Cellular Telephone Industries Association, or CTIA, has found a winner for their second annual contest focusing on distracted driving, and the winner is an Irvine teen. This Irvine teen shows you what life would be like if we treated every aspect of life the way we do driving while distracted.

Irvine Teen Wins Distracted Driving Video Contest

Claire Offenberger, 18, is the Irvine teen who won the second annual contest held by the CTIA. The video was only 30 seconds long but could save thousands of lives. It’s also not the last video Offenberger plans on making to bring awareness through activism.

Offenberger is a senior at the Orange County School of The Arts in Santa Ana and explained her views to the LA Times after winning the contest. “When you’re on your device, you’re essentially blindfolded, so that’s the image I went with,” Offenberger told the LA Times.

Offenberger has no plans to slow down her activism through film; she is currently working on her next project with the ToungeOut Corp., which is a nonprofit providing medical care and school construction to overseas communities.

Distractions Equal Blindfold

As you can see in the video, even the mundane tasks we do throughout the day can become complicated when we don’t pay attention. Pouring a cup of coffee turns into a mess, walking down the stairs could end up in a hospital visit, and ironing your shirt could turn into a trip to the store to get a new one (or worse).

The video points out that if even the mundane, simple tasks can’t be done while distracted, then distracted driving is a different level.

The Meaning of The Metaphor

It’s simple: taking your eyes off the road, even if just briefly, can be fatal. When we pull out our devices while driving, we are not looking at the road, so we’re essentially putting on a blindfold. During that time, we can seriously injure our vehicles, ourselves, or even worse, someone else.

It is important that we keep the blindfold off while behind the wheel and just leave our phones alone. It is one of the easiest ways to practice safe driving.