KAILUA-KONA — As every parent knows when they turn the wheel over to their teenager — there is no way to over-prepare them, or to over-stress the importance of vigilance.
So when high school students at Makua Lani Christian Academy were given the chance to flex their creativity while taking a shot at earning a $100,000 grant for driver safety, they jumped at it.
The objective was to create a 30-second video in keeping with the State Farm Insurance theme of “Drive 2N2.” The national campaign and contest to boost teen awareness of safe driving habits — with two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road — yielded hundreds of entries. Makua Lani is the only school in the state to make the list of finalists, which principal Thaddea Pitts estimates at 50 for her division of schools with less than 750 students.
The video created by students of the filmmaking and photography class shows a group of students piling into a Jeep, goofing off, the driver yakking on a cellphone behind the wheel, with disastrous consequences. The clip features a pumping soundtrack composed and mastered by student Geoff Hand.
“We had only a few weeks to get it done, because we got the email late,” said film and photography teacher Frederick Herrmann. “Normally, you want several takes. It was like, this is the shot, however it turns out. Considering that, they did a really good job.”
The video reinforces the message that the thrill of those first drives has to be balanced with the responsibility of being in control of a vehicle that can kill and maim. Too many teens die each year from distracted driving, said 10th-grader Michelle Brunner, who is featured in the video and helped brainstorm the concept.
“I’m not old enough yet to drive, but I know I get so distracted on my phone,” she said. “It could be so dangerous.”
What happens now depends on how many people go online to vote for their favorite video. If the school wins, it will spend the money on a drive simulator and will begin teaching drivers education as part of its health class, Pitts said. The funds would also help beef up the school’s visual performing arts program and pay for upkeep of the facility. Voting started on Monday and continues through Friday.
“We’ll know by the end of the week,” Pitts said.
To vote: www.celebratemydrive.com.