For Immediate Release                                                             Contact: Karen Rhine

News Bureau                                                                              (321) 674-8964

Florida Tech Student Project Connects to ‘Hang Up ‘N Drive’

MELBOURNE, FLA.—“People who use cell phones while driving can be dangerous,” said Ayuba Audu, a member of a Florida Institute of Technology student team that has taken on a project in support of Hang Up’ ‘N Drive. The Space Coast non-profit organization, Hang Up ‘N Drive, established to prevent cell phone-related road accidents, is gaining momentum, in part from drawing supporters like Audu.

The two-member team of software engineering student Audu and computer science major Abdulla Al-Salem, who are planning to earn their degrees this May, is creating a Hang Up ‘N Drive software platform/memorial wall for a culminating project. Head of the Florida Tech Department of Computer Science William Shoaff is the team’s adviser; Information Technology staff members are also helping the team.

The project, a mobile virtual memorial wall and information site, is intended to raise awareness, provide education and address the growing number of accidents related to cell phone use and texting while driving. Audu and Al-Salem target the end of February for completion of their prototype.

“We want to promote better driving safety habits by increasing public awareness of the dangers of using mobile phones while driving,” said Audu. “We are designing a visually engaging and immersive experience with true stories, accessible via the Web. The interface will be fully functional via regular desktop browsers and touch-friendly for devices that support such functionality. We are making it handicapped-accessible.”

The platform is also intended to support charitable initiatives to channel funds to individuals and families who have been affected by vehicle crashes associated with talking or texting on cell phones.

The Hang Up ‘N Drive campaign was initiated by Melbourne chiropractor Mitchell Greenberg, who in his practice is seeing an increasing number of patients debilitated by cell phone-related driving accidents.

“This has become my mission,” he said. “I want to help put an end to the senseless injuries and deaths that increasingly occur because of these accidents. Education is key and that is our objective.”

According to the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis, cell phone use contributes to an estimated six percent of all crashes, which equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths each year. The same organization reports that the annual cost of crashes caused by cell phone use is estimated to be $43 billion.

The Florida Tech team will display and demonstrate its project at the university’s annual Northrop Grumman Design Showcase, which will be held on April 20 on campus in the Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation.

Greenberg asks people to contact him with their story or that of a family member who had a life changing injury or if there was a death due to a crash caused by a cell phone. These personal stories will be part of the virtual memorial wall. Contact him at drg@spinedoc.biz.

For more information about Hang Up ‘N Drive, visit: www.hangupndrive.com.

About Florida Institute of Technology
Founded at the dawn of the Space Race in 1958, Florida Tech is the only independent, technological university in the Southeast. PayScale.com ranks graduates’ mid-career median salaries in first place among Florida’s universities, and lists Florida Tech among the top 20 universities in the South—both public and private. The university has been named a Barron’s Guide “Best Buy” in College Education, designated a Tier One Best National University in U.S. News & World Report, and is one of just nine schools in Florida lauded by the 2012 Fiske Guide to Colleges. The university offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs. Fields of study include science, engineering, aeronautics, business, humanities, mathematics, psychology, communication and education. Additional information is available online at www.fit.edu.

###

The primary focus of the event is the teen driving course that will be set up for teens to drive first with no distractions, a second time with instructors speaking to them on their cell phones while they are driving through the course and a third time with instructors testing with them while they are driving through the course. The course will be made up of traffic cones with replicas of people sticking out of the top of the traffic cones. The purpose of this teen driving course is to show the teen drivers how many people that they would kill when they are driving distracted by talking on their cell phone or texting on their cell phone.

Everything else at this event is designed to;

1. Make the event appealing to teenagers so that they will want to be there
2. Raise funds for Hang Up ‘N Drive to be able to help people and families who have been negatively affected by a loved one who was injured in an automobile accident that was the result of a cell phone distraction.

Here are the details for our first Annual Hang Up N Drive Day.

WHEN: September 17, 2011       12:00pm-6:00pm

WHERE: THE AVENUE VIERA

BENEFIT: Hang Up ‘N Drive, Inc

WHAT: Auto Driving Test Course for Teens, Live Music, Local Teen DJ Spin Off Contest, Car Show, A Stunt Bike Show, Drifting, Mixed Martial Arts Demonstration, Carnival

Food and Fun!

This is an Event for ALL AGES!