New Michigan traffic safety DVD

The U.S. Department of Transportation says traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for American 15-to-20-year-olds.

Two Michigan organizations have put together a new traffic safety resource, and they hope it will help teens from becoming part of that statistic.

Some of the video in this story is quite graphic; we’ve included some of the less graphic portions here.

The Traffic Improvement Association of Michigan and the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning have created a new traffic safety DVD.

It’s aimed specifically at teens and young adults, and it mainly deals with underage drinking and distracted driving.

The DVD includes an award-winning dramatization of a distracted driving crash.

It also contains PowerPoint presentations and other notes about drunk and distracted driving.

It even introduces viewers to Sault Ste. Marie teenager Kelsey Raffaele, who died in a distracted driving crash in 2010.

Kelsey’s Law, which recently banned hand-held phone use by Michigan teenagers behind the wheel, is named after her.

The DVD is available free of charge.

If you’d like to order a copy, you can send an email to trafficsafety@michigan.gov , or you can call (517) 636-4256.