This fall, 9NEWS continues its Great Hang Up partnership with Denver Police and Denver Public Schools.
Some Denver students are already doing their part to stop distracted driving.
Students at Noel Middle School in Denver put together a public service announcement about the dangers of distracted driving.
The PSA starts with a typical texting conversation these days between two teenage lovebirds.
The teenage boy is going to pick up his girlfriend to go get some food.
He sends her text messages while he's driving, and when the conversation ends, the teenage boy ends up hitting his girlfriend with his car, sending her to the ground and knocking her unconscious.
The PSA ends with a closing line that says "texting and driving don't make a good couple."
"The message is saying you shouldn't text and drive or this could happen to you," 8th grader Kayla Mechels said.
Mechels is one of seven Denver students who created the PSA.
"We just started off thinking small and then it progressed more and more," 8th grader Gilbert Quezada said.
Vista Academy teacher Richard Carter helped the students create the video.
"We found a topic that really is impacting kids today. Kids are constantly texting," Carter said.
The team of Noel Middle School and Vista Academy students won a national competition a few months ago with their PSA.
"Once they understand that the hard work does have a payoff, it becomes exciting," Carter said.
The teens say they chose texting and driving for their PSA because it's a growing problem.
"I think it's a very big problem because most of the times when I'm at a stop light they're calling people, or texting or something like that," Quezada said.
"Drivers are doing makeup, looking down at the phone, some people reading books, smoking," Mechels said.
Seventy-four schools entered Panasonic's Kid Witness News competition, and this group was one of the four winning schools selected.
"The other three schools were all high schools, so we were the youngest group that won," Carter said.
The kids are already working on a new PSA to enter into the next competition focusing on Cyber-bullying.
Denver Police will be out at Denver High Schools the first full week of school reminding kids about the dangers of texting and driving and encouraging teen drivers to sign the 9NEWS Great Hang Up pledge.
If you would like to take the 9NEWS Great Hang Up pledge to help stop distracted driving, download the pledge form.
If you have a story about distracted driving you would like to share with us, or if your company or office has decided to sign the pledge as a team, email 9NEWS Anchor/Reporter Eric Kahnert at eric.kahnert@9news.com.
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