Pledge to Drive Safe Could Lure Kelly Clarkson

Students at Arundel High School could land a concert featuring Kelly Clarkson as part of a national campaign to promote safe driving. 

The school is working with the State Farm Insurance office in Crofton to generate support for the Celebrate My Drive campaign, which runs from Oct. 18-26. The school is also in the running for a $100,000 grant. 

Local State Farm owner Jodi Jones is working to generate support from broader community. During National Teen Safety Driver Week, anyone can go online to to celebratemydrive.com and commit to drive safely while selecting their local school. Schools will be eligible for grants based on the number of commitments collected; 98 schools will received $25,000 grants, while the top two schools will receive $100,000 and a concert by Clarkson. 

"I really think Arundel has a shot," Jones said, noting that about 2,000 schools are expected to enter. 

Jones and other State Farm representatives will be at the Arundel High football game on October 11 collecting signups. Once people are signed up, they will receive a reminder each day between Oct. 18 and 26 to go online and sign a safe driving pledge. Anyone can commit once per day during the campaign. 

Arundel students have set aside a dedicated period to sign up for the campaign, and are expected to get reminders during the morning announcements.

Jones said she is also hoping to get signups by asking local restaurants to put a flyer in their menus. 

Jones said that as an insurance agent, she is aware that teen drivers often pay more in premiums. She said she is always concerned about young drivers texting or talking on their phone while driving, but has also increasingly become aware of the risk of teens driving while having too many passengers in the car. 

"That's one of the trends we've seen, and there's not as much awareness," she said. 

National Teen Driver Safety Awareness Week was formed in 2007 following a series of crashes involving teens in Pennsylvania. State Farm has been a supporter of the month since then. This is the second year of the Celebrate My Drive campaign. 

To sign up for the Celebrate My Drive Campaign, go to celebratemydrive.com. The campaign runs from Oct. 18-26.