Rowan Regional Medical Center and Salisbury Marketing Firm Produce TV Drama To Help Curb Teenage Reckless Driving.

SALISBURY, N.C. -- Rowan Regional Medical Center and a Salisbury marketing firm have finished principal photography for a television production aimed at making teenagers think twice about reckless behavior while driving.

The video is part of the medical center's effort to bring attention to the problem of reckless driving by younger drivers, and to the legal and physical consequences that sometimes result. Rowan Regional is producing the television program about teenage reckless driving with the help of Miller Davis Studios of Salisbury.

When editing is finished in early July the production will be made available free to local law enforcement agencies, high schools, driver education classes, civic groups and government access television channels. Other organizations or companies that could use a copy of the program, on videotape or DVD, should contact Miller Davis Studios at [phone].

"The medical center decided to get involved with this issue after a number of area teenagers were injured or killed in traffic accidents that indicated reckless driving habits," said Phil Whitesell, Director of Corporate Communications at Rowan Regional. "We hope the program encourages teenagers to think twice before engaging in similar behavior."

With a cast of more than 60, a production crew from Miller Davis and CMR Studios spent two weeks taping the program's three scenarios - a motorcycle race on a rural highway, a collision caused by an inattentive driver, and an attempt by an underage teen to buy beer that results in a high-speed chase. The production staff is turning about 14 hours of footage into a 30-minute program.

"Our Emergency Department sees the end result of situations just like these, so with the help of law enforcement officers, our Emergency Department physicians and staff, and Nursing Services, we created three situations that occur too often in real life," Whitesell said. "But we also emphasized the consequences that teenagers usually don't think about when they're driving. And we used actors of similar age to drive the message home."

The production was taped at several locations in Rowan County, including at the medical center, local schools, the old Kannapolis jail, the Rowan County Magistrate's Office and several roads.

"The Rowan County Sheriff's Department and Salisbury Police Department, the court system and other public service officials have been a great help in this project," said Mike Miller, president of Miller Davis Studios. "Not only did they help keep all our locations safe and participate in the production, but they acted as consultants for some scenes to ensure our depictions of these situations were as realistic as possible."

In addition to local law enforcement, the production collaborated with Rowan County Emergency Services, the Rowan County Rescue Squad and the Faith Fire Department. At Rowan Regional Medical Center, scenes were shot in the Emergency Department and in a critical care unit.

"Between planning, props, actors and camera angles, we made every effort to make this as realistic as possible," said David Jones, interactive/video manager for Miller Davis.

"In order for this piece to have an impact on our audience, it has to be convincing," Miller added.

Scott Griswold, a 2005 graduate of South Rowan High School near China Grove, played Trent, a teenager who gets arrested for underage drinking and attempting to elude law enforcement. Griswold, 18, participated in scenes including a party, high-speed chase, the magistrate's office and the old Kannapolis jail.

"The jail experience was a lot more dramatic and scary that I thought it would be," he said. After learning the possible consequences from the behavior his character engaged in, Griswold said he has a different perspective now.

"It would definitely make you think a little more," he said. "Knowing that my family would have to put up property or come up with $1,000 (bond) if I got arrested would make me think twice."

Rowan County Sheriff's Deputy Wes Smith played a role in the production and was selected largely because of his experience in law enforcement. Thanks to a federal grant, Smith recently began a position focused on teenage driving. He spends his weekday mornings and afternoons patrolling the county's high school traffic. He also is responsible for assisting with driver's education and child safety seat inspections.

Smith said the scenarios in the television production are very realistic. In one segment a teenage driver played by Catawba College student Joey Ryan Yow is distracted by three passengers in his vehicle, runs off the road and hits a car head-on when he attempts to bring the car back onto the street.

Smith said running off a road and "over-correcting" is one of the top reasons for teenage accidents. "It all boils down to inexperience in driving," he said.

Rowan Regional Medical Center is a private, not-for-profit, acute care hospital. It offers women's health services, cardiology, oncology, and inpatient rehabilitation services, extensive outpatient services, a 24-hour Emergency Department, hospice and home health services, and psychiatric services.