Actor and RSA Road Safety Ambassador Keith McErlean have launched the Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Setanta Insurance national road safety film competition, ‘Keep Drama off the Roads’. The competition, which will appeal to all young budding filmmakers, aims to generate awareness among young people of the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving, particularly texting while driving. The competition marks the launch of ‘Irish Road Safety Week’ which takes place from Monday 8 October to Sunday 14 October.

‘Keep Drama off the Roads’ is open to 15-25 year olds and provides young people with an opportunity to showcase their creative skills by submitting an original and innovative concept for a short film that tackles the serious issue of mobile phone use while driving, particularly texting while driving. The entries will be judged by a panel of experts, including Keith McErlean who will also be involved in the development of the script from the winning entry. The winner of the competition will receive €3,000 and the opportunity to work with a professional film production company to see their concept come to life in a short film.

Keith McErlean, who is currently filming the new series of ‘Raw’ on RTÉ, said: “Last year, the Road Safety Authority asked me to become a Road Safety Ambassador and I was delighted to say yes. Road safety is something that I am very passionate about, particularly when I can get involved in initiatives like ‘Keep Drama of the Roads’ that help to educate young, vulnerable road-users. This is a fantastic opportunity for a young student to put their creative talents to good use and develop a film concept that could make a real impact on the behaviour of their friends and other young people. I’m really looking forward to seeing what ideas students come up with and helping them to turn those ideas into reality.”

RSA Chief Executive, Mr Noel Brett said: “We are always looking for ideas and innovations that help us to address the high incidences of road deaths among our younger road-users. So we are delighted to be teaming up with Setanta Insurance for the third year of ‘Keep Drama off the Roads’. This year’s theme is focused on the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving and in particular, texting while driving. Research tells us that using a mobile phone while driving makes you four times more likely to crash, and when coupled with inexperience, this risk is increased. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what innovative ideas young people come up with to tackle this issue among their peers.”

Entries to the competition can be submitted from Thursday 4 October until 6pm on Friday 16 November via the competition website, www.keepdramaofftheroads.ie