Three Carroll ISD students turned a class project into a 35-member club tackling teen distracted driving across Southlake.
Cameron Cole, Armani Karmali and Melissa Robinowitz founded Dragons Drive Safe as a Texas HOSA community awareness project, Southlake Style reported.
The idea started when the three were learning to drive and noticed how casually their peers treated texting, checking notifications and other distractions behind the wheel.
"The biggest misconception is that 'I'm the exception,'" Cole told Southlake Style.
He said most teens know distracted driving is dangerous but convince themselves that checking a notification, changing a song or glancing at a phone at a red light is harmless.
The group has raised more than $2,500 for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and presented its work to Southlake City Council, which recognized the students at a council meeting, according to the City of Southlake.
Humor as a hook
Rather than lectures, Dragons Drive Safe meets students on social media. Its weekly "Bad Parking of the Week" series turns student-submitted parking mishaps into posts. One attracted more than 40,000 views and 200 shares, according to Southlake Style.
The idea caught on.
What started with three sophomores now counts more than 35 Carroll club members. The campaign also uses interactive booths, games, trivia and educational materials from the Southlake Police Department to reach students and families.
A statewide problem
The students' work comes as distracted driving remains a persistent danger on Texas roads. In 2025, distracted driving caused 86,384 crashes statewide, seriously injuring more than 2,437 people and killing 299, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The crash numbers were highest among young drivers.
Reading, writing or sending a text while driving has been illegal in Texas since Sept. 1, 2017, with fines up to $200.
