As part of her work under the Highway Safety Grant, Marian Berkowitz appeared on Wat’s Da Wurd, a video webcast and radio program airing on Boston Free Radio. The November 3, 2018 broadcast coincided with the beginning of Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, alerting viewers and listeners to the dangers of not getting enough rest before operating a motor vehicle. Marian was joined for the broadcast by her assistant, Lewis C. Howe.
A Partnership for Prevention
In the Spring of 2018, we partnered with the MA Highway Safety Division, AAA New England, and Harvard School of Public Health to apply to the Governors’ Highway Safety Administration for a grant to create and implement drowsy driving awareness messaging across the Commonwealth. We were one of five states chosen to receive a grant award of $15,000 to develop a social media messaging campaign aimed at young drivers, considered a high-risk population.
This grant allowed us to create our own content with our volunteer focus group of local teens from the Somerville, MA community. Peer-to-peer communication is the most effective means of reaching young people, and we want to constantly remind our kids, and everyone who drives, of our central message: Drowsy Driving is Impaired Driving, and Impaired Driving is Dangerous.
The GHSA grant allowed us to work closely with our partners to develop new messaging, for both videos and print public service announcements, that emphasize the dangers of tired driving for inexperienced drivers. See our video.
To promote the grant, Marian Berkowitz appeared on Wat’s Da Wurd, a video webcast and radio program airing on Boston Free Radio, on November 3, 2018. Topics ranged from getting enough rest during the clock change period, to what to do if you find yourself getting sleepy while behind the wheel.
In 2019, grant funds were used to purchase time on Instagram, where ads with a special focus on teens and young adults ran during April 2019, and again in November 2019.
Drowsy Driving prevention project 