Project Yellow Light

Gwen Rummell reporting –

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2021, drivers between ages 15-20 made up 8 percent of drivers in fatal crashes but were 11 percent of all distracted drivers and 16 percent of drivers distracted by cell phones in fatal crashes.

To highlight the dangers of distracted driving for youth, Project Yellow Light and the Ad Council created the Project Yellow Light scholarship competition. High school and college students are asked to create TV, radio and billboard PSAs to educate their peers about the dangers of distracted driving, especially when using a mobile device.

Julie Garner, the Founder of Project Yellow Light, created the scholarship program to honor Hunter Garner’s memory after his death in a car crash at 16.

Garner says Project Yellow Light is an opportunity to give youth a voice to speak out against distracted driving in several different medias.

“We feel like there is nobody better than the young people themselves to get this message out to our youngest drivers to be careful. So not only do these young students win a scholarship prize, they also have their work exposed and shared nationwide.”

The winner of the 12th annual Project Yellow Light scholarship competition in the college division was Zoë Taylor from Overland Park, Kansas.

Taylor’s inspiration was to steer away from the lectures of her childhood, which scared teens into focused driving.

“We chose to focus on [a] more insightful way of encouraging people to be focused on while. So we wanted to tap into the insight that a lot of people in our generation really love to focus on self-care and meditation and so that’s kind of the idea that stemmed our project.”

The winning PSA will be broadcasted nationwide across iHeartMedia radio stations, displayed on Clear Channel Outdoor digital billboards, and shared with approximately 1,800 TV stations.