Burch George Germany College Scholarship Contest Featured in Recent Article in The Oklahoman

We are pleased that The Oklahoman newspaper and its website NewsOK.com are helping to get the word out about the teen safety public service announcement scholarship contest sponsored by Burch, George & Germany. It’s a contest we hope will raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, as well as assist local students in their pursuit of a college education. Texting and driving is a deadly practice, and one that’s far too common among Oklahoma City teens.

The contest requires students to showcase their skills in a video public service announcement on the dangers of distracted driving. In return, the winners will receive money for college and an iPad mini.

Local media coverage

A recent news article announcing the Burch, George & Germany scholarship contest alerted those in OKC and surrounding areas that we are hoping to decrease the risks of distracted driving accidents in our city and particularly among young drivers.

As the article states, a large portion of our law practice involves representing accident victims. While accidents happen in all sorts of circumstances, distracted driving seems to be a growing factor.

Founding partner Derek Burch is quoted by reporter Nasreen Iqbal as saying that more and more accident cases seem to involve texting, a dangerous trend that we believe deserves attention.

Why distracted driving?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that in 2012 some 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents.

Young people are particularly at risk. Ten percent of all teen drivers involved in deadly crashes were reportedly distracted at the time of the accident. Among all age groups, this one has the largest proportion of distracted drivers.

A survey from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found a quarter of teens respond to text messages at least once every time they drive. Twenty percent admit to long, multi-message text exchanges while behind the wheel, according to the NHTSA.

Scholarship contest details

The first annual Teen Safety Oklahoma Scholarship from Burch, George & Germany gives young people across the state a chance to win a top prize of $1,000 for college. Second place receives $500 and honorable mention will receive an iPad mini.

We want to see teen creativity in action. Participants are asked to fill out an application and submit a PSA. The video should be an original 30-second clip designed to prevent texting and driving. Details of the scholarship contest can be found here.

At Burch, George & Germany, we take teen safety and texting very seriously. We want to see that you do, too.