BURNSVILLE, Minn. - This past spring, KARE 11 Sunrise launched our first ever #eyesUP High School PSA challenge among students in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We had 11 finalists, and the top three won a cash prize.
Our #eyesUp challenge pushed students to get more involved in the fight against distracted driving. We asked teens across the state to create a 15 second PSA highlighting the dangers of distractions behind the wheel.
Coming up with 11 finalists wasn't easy for us.
Our viewers helped us pick our top three, who each won $1,100 to go towards distracted driving awareness campaigns within their own school.
We caught up with Anthony Tran, a junior at Burnsville High School, who made this winning PSA with his classmates.
"My mom would watch TV sometimes and be like, 'Hey, you did that!'" Tran said. "So its really fun, and students would come up to me in school and say, 'Hey, didn't you work on that PSA?'"
Besides his newfound fame at school and the fun he and his fellow classmates had creating the PSA, Anthony is hoping their message sparks a change in people's driving behavior.
"If it only targets one or two people, it could change one or two lives and that's what we want," Tran said.
The students were told they had to use that money towards distracted driving awareness efforts in their school.
"We're planning to get T-shirts to throw out during pep fest," Tran said. "And we're setting up a table during our lunches where students can come up and sign a thing that says they won't text and drive and we'll give them a nice little prize."
To take the #eyesUp pledge, click here.