Special to Hawaii 24/7

If Josie Painter has her way, West Hawaii drivers will be safer, not take risks on the road and avoid driving after drinking or taking drugs.

Painter, a Kealakehe High School student, is determined to make West Hawaii’s roads safer through her senior project. As part of the project, Painter organized a sign-waving event Saturday Feb. 25 in Kailua-Kona.

In this video, shot by Matt Lovein, Gina Ross interviews Josie Painter and Deputy Prosecutor Mitch Roth about driver awareness and how people should drive more safely.

Painter talks about the event she coordinated as a school project, and Roth talks about how proud he is of the youth in Kona to have taken the initiative to help save lives by staging events like the one today.

He also speaks about the the Shattered Dreams video project that was completed last year to help spread awareness of driver safety.

Video courtesy of Matt Lovein