RBR Interactive Media student Haley Watson (left) was interviewed by WPIX Channel 11 reporter Lisa Mateo (right), while cameraman Dave Kimmel filmed the piece for a segment aired during WPIX coverage of the New York Car Show.

Press release from Red Bank Regional High School

The Interactive Media classes at Red Bank Regional High School had the cameras turned on them recently, when WPIX 11 Morning News visited RBR to film a segment about distracted driving awareness.

WPIX 11 correspondent Lisa Mateo reported on Mr. Carl Grillo’s students, who were busy filming this year’s #RBRHSDBD Safe Teen Driving Campaign Public Service Announcement on distracted driving. The on-air reporter also graciously agreed to a cameo appearance in the student-made PSA.

This marks the second year that the class has created a safe teenage driving campaign for the Red Bank Regional community, and for the contest sponsored by the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey (BIANJ) and UGotBrains.com. This year’s main focus is on FOMO, or “Fear of Missing Out.” FOMO leads students to access and use social media while driving, or they stay awake late at night on social media and drive tired the next day.

“The kids were extremely excited to be interviewed by a real news crew on this topic,” teacher Carl Grillo commented, adding that “they were also happy that they were able to ask questions about their craft.”

Last year, the advanced levels of the Interactive Media Class won a Grand Prize from BIANJ and UGotBrains.com. They were awarded a driving simulator for their school to use in conjunction with Project Prom Week and RBR’s Driver’s Education program.

The WPIX segment aired ran during the morning news program on April 1. April is designated Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and students were thrilled to have WPIX help spread the word on the topic. Their final PSA will be completed by the end of this month, and as student Haley Watson commented, “If it saves at least one life then the work that we put in would have been worth it.”

Follow the students’ Twitter account: https://twitter.com/rbrhsdbd and subscribe to their YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RBRTVcgrillo to catch their Final PSA once the project is completed.