Even Salmon Wait For Cars Before Crossing the Road (Interesting Video)

In a very strange occurrence of events the salmon in this river have found a shortcut to their spawning stream. I just hope they can hear speeding cars! But well, seems like they know the road rules very well. Better than most of us. Watch this video about the salmon wait for cars before crossing the street. Very interesting!

Minnesota Students Push for Phone Ban

The four students took on the cell phone topic for their Public Policy and Private Initiative class. They did research on the number of deaths and injuries related to driving while using a wireless device, they drafted language for legislation, and took it to their state senator.

"I wish we didn't have to legislate something like this, but the bottom line is there's a lot of deaths, a lot of injuries and we need to do something about it," said State Senator Chuck Wiger.

Wiger introduced the bill on behalf of the students Monday. If it passes, as is, all drivers would be prohibited from using their phones for any reason in the car, unless it's an emergency. They could also face fines up to $300.

"If this law passes, it will be the first law in the United State to ban hands-free devices, which is actually kind of cool because research we found shows that hands-free is no different than driving hands-held," said senior Katherine Garvey.

Minnesota already bans cell use for bus drivers and young drivers with provisional licenses. They students know pushing it to the rest of the population will be a tough sell.

"Maybe this bill isn't the one that gets passed, but at least it will provoke conversation and thoughts on the issue, and that's really what you want to do is get the issue moving," said Gaughan.

The students' teacher, Maureen Conway, says regardless of the outcome of this particular bill, she hopes the lesson learned is that the path to change has to start somewhere.

"The most important idea I want them to get out of this is that all of this history happened because individual people took a chance. Individual people wanted something done. They approached the government, they created a foundation, they did something because they wanted to see change," said Conway.

Source: Youth Road Safety

Sesame Street Supports Road Safety Decade of Action

Sesame Workshop provided Muppets fans with a sneak peak at its new public service announcements (PSAs) for road safety. Grover, the energetic blue Muppet from “Sesame Street,” is the Road Safety Ambassador for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety.

The three short spots, each under a minute long, are entitled “Grover the Pilot,” “Astronaut Grover,” and “Safari Grover.”

In the PSAs, an animated Grover stars in three different scenarios where he imagines himself a savvy traveler during everyday activities, his role-play identified in the above titles. The spots show Grover demonstrating good road safety: using a seatbelt or helmet and practicing safe road-crossing behavior.

After each instance of good road-safey behavior Grover, who does not speak in these spots, gives viewers a thumbs up, the “all systems go” sign. Grover wears the official international road safety symbol, a yellow Road Safety tag, to signify his ambassadorial role.

The PSAs, developed in partnership with the FIA Foundation, were uploaded to the YouTube channel for “Sesame Street.” According to Sesame Workshop, the goal of the PSAs is “to make road safety a family priority and a shared family experience.”

Thanks to ToughPigs, the website for “Muppets fans who grew up,” for linking to the Sesame Workshop’s PSAs on its ToughPigs Facebook page.

In addition to PSAs, Sesame Workshop and the Global Road Safety Partnership are developing a Road Safety Education Framework. The materials will provide educators, parents and practitioners with content and strategies to help children better understand the risks associated with travel on or near the roads, and to learn and adopt safe practices.

"The Decade of Action is a critical opportunity for coordinated action among our global partners to mobilize our media reach to promote road safety awareness among road users, especially families with young children," said Gary E. Knell, Sesame Workshop President and CEO in a press statement.

"The PSA messages, generously funded by the FIA Foundation, and Framework, developed with the Global Road Safety Partnership, promote an early understanding of critical road safety knowledge for increased use of seatbelts, child restraints and helmets, and encourage safe pedestrian behavior."

Sesame Workshop became a member of Global Road Safety Partnership in 2010.

The three PSAs, animated by LA-based Rubicon Studios, will be distributed to broadcasters in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. They will be broadcast starting on May 11, 2011, marking the global launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Source: Examiner.com