kevinhamlin.com - Official Site of NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kevin Hamlin

Hamlin Visits Local High School to Talk About Responsible Driving

October 23rd, 2008 - Memphis, TN
Source: CGRFS PR

Thursday afternoon Kevin Hamlin, the driver of the No.40 Fastenal Dodge this weekend at the Memphis Motorsports Park, visited Millington (Tenn.) Central High School to drive home the message that multitasking behind the wheel puts drivers and their fellow motorists at risk.

Hamlin participated in the high school driver education event as part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) sponsorship that has been working throughout the 2008 season to spread the word about the dangers of driving while distracted.

Hamlin was joined by fellow NNS driver Jason Leffler during the after-school event. The two drivers took a few minutes to address the 50-plus teens in attendance and then raced against each other on the racing simulator. The teens then tried to beat the drivers' lap times while the drivers signed autographs for onlookers.

The program gives teens an opportunity to get driver autographs, clock the fastest time in a NASCAR racing simulator and see firsthand the impact text messaging has on their driving abilities while racing in the NASCAR simulator.

The teens with the fastest times won free tickets to this weekend's NNS race at Memphis and the second-place prize was an iPod Shuffle.

In a survey released by Nationwide Mutual Insurance of 1,500 drivers, nearly 40 percent of the teenagers and young adults surveyed admitted they send and receive text messages while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted drivers account for nearly four out of five crashes in the U.S., and the problem is especially bad for young drivers.