On Monday, May 3, Dana Hall’s Upper School students attended an assembly about the risks of using cell phones while driving. Organized by Dana’s Peer Educators, the assembly defined distracted driving, raised awareness of the dangers of being a distracted driver, and aligned with Oprah Winfrey’s campaign to encourage all Americans to take a pledge to not use their cell phone while behind the wheel.

A. Porter ’10, a co-head of Peer Education with A. Coyle ’10 and A. Pappas ’10, asked students to think about the last text they sent or received while driving. “Would reading or responding to that text be worth getting in a car accident?” questioned Porter.

Students sat in silence as they watched clips from Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone” episode. The show featured families who have lost loved ones because they or another driver was using his or her cell phone while driving; this also is known as distracted driving. Winfrey shared statistics about the dangers of distracted driving, noting that using a cell phone is as dangerous as having four drinks and driving drunk, and that there are 6,000 deaths and half a million injuries each year as a result of drivers talking or texting on their cell phones.

The Dana Hall Peer Educators are following Winfrey’s lead and asking students to make their cars “no phone zones.” They offered shutting off cell phone before driving, not reading or responding to text messages while driving, and giving your cell phone to the passenger as examples of a “no phone zone.”

To show Dana Hall’s support of Winfrey’s “no phone zone” efforts, more than 300 students filled out Oprah’s No Phone Zone pledge which will be mailed to Winfrey herself. To view and sign Winfrey’s No Phone Zone pledge, please click here.