Tom Hessert Joins Musselman’s and PADD® for the ‘Nikki Kellenyi Foundation’s Walk against Distracted Driving’

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Venturini Motorsports’ driver Tom Hessert and family will join People Against Distracted Driving (PADD®) in this weekend’s 5th Annual ‘Nikki Kellenyi Foundation – Walk Against Distracted Driving’ event in southern New Jersey.

PADD® along with their national sponsor Musselman’s Apple Sauce will host the charity walk on Saturday, April 15 at Washington Township Lake Park in Sewell, New Jersey. The event is open to the public with registration starting at 8:00AM followed by the charity walk at 9:00AM. For more information on how to donate or participate visit PADD.org.

Joining Hessert and Musselman’s will be representatives from Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union, along with support from New Jersey Manufacturing Insurance, Texas Coral, Barbera’s Autoland, Drive Beehive, House of Gamez and many more local business participants.

Distracted driving is a national epidemic with distracted driving related automobile crashes at the highest rate since 2007.

Beginning in April, also Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Musselman’s, VMS and PADD® will join forces and unveil a year-long distracted driving educational campaign designed to create attention to this modern day epidemic. Using government, community involvement, social media, and the national reach of professional motorsports, the group’s combined efforts will target all demographic ages, but mostly adolescence, to promote safe and responsible driving.

PADD®, a nationally recognized non-profit organization, is one of the country’s leading authorities on distracted driving awareness advocacy providing education and support to thousands of families affected by injury or death as result of automobile accidents caused by distracted drivers. PADD®’s primary objective is to raise public awareness, offer 24/7 support to victims of inattentive driving and to influence legislation regarding distracted driving reform.

In 2013, New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, signed “Nikki’s Law” into state legislation after PADD® founder Mike Kellenyi’s daughter, Nikki Kellenyi, was killed in a car crash. “Nikki’s Law” calls for state transportation agencies to put up signs and use electronic signs to inform drivers that using a handheld phone or electronic device while driving is illegal. Nikki Kellenyi was 18 when the car she was a backseat passenger in crashed into a pick-up truck as a result of suspected distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. Technology allows us to make phone calls, dictate texts or emails and update social media while driving – all actions that are proven to increase crash risk. The National Safety Council observes April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month to draw attention to this epidemic.

Anyone interested in supporting PADD’s® efforts should contact the organization at [email protected]. For more information on PADD® also visit www.PADD.org.

VMS PR

 

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