DOT uses fatal car accident in new PSA to send dramatic message

 DOT uses fatal car accident in new PSA to send dramatic message http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNYLEEQQzdE
 

 
Sandra Kilde of Beulah turned 67 on Dec. 30, 2009.
 
She died the following day from injuries sustained in a head-on crash — the other driver, who had been drinking, died at the scene.
 

The tragic story that affected the lives of two families is the focus of a new North Dakota Department of Transportation public service  announcement campaign on drinking and driving.
 

At the center of the one-minute video spot is Steve Kilde, a lieutenant with the Bismarck Police Department, Sandra Kilde's son.
 

The video contains actual audio as a motorist following the drunken driver talks with a 911 dispatcher right up to the time of the collision.
 

Mark Nelson, safety division director for the DOT, said the department annually produces safety campaigns on drinking and driving.
 

This one is different, he said.
 

Nelson said the PSA, which was posted on the DOT's Facebook page on its website, had generated about 100 views in just a few hours.
 

Nelson said when developing a drinking and driving  campaign, the primary target audience officials hope to reach is the 18-34 age group, something that can be difficult to achieve through conventional television and radio messages.
 

Nelson said in recent years the DOT has incorporated social media more and more into its safety campaigns although in this case, it was posted a bit earlier than planned by members of the Kilde family on Facebook.
 

That's OK though, Nelson said. "As long as people are seeing it."
 

Steve Kilde's comments in the PSA are honest and genuine and something most everyone can relate to.
 

"It makes a big impact," Nelson said. "It's a very powerful message."
 

For Steve Kilde and his family, telling their story was something they felt they had to do.
 

With 23 years in law enforcement, much of it in Mercer County where the accident happened, Kilde has been on both sides of death notifications involving drinking and driving fatalities.
 

He said his family contacted the family of the other driver and discussed the campaign beforehand.
 

"First of all, we bear no ill will against them at all," he said. "We realize this is not a situation unique to us ... they were as much of victim as we were," Kilde said. "There is a 7-year-old boy who will have to grow up without his mother."
 

In doing the PSA, Kilde said it was difficult at times to separate the professional from the personal, but it was something he felt compelled to do.
 

Kilde's father, Vince, died earlier in the year and he said it's what his parents would have wanted.
 

"If some good can come out of this, that is what we want," he said.
 

With the message out on the Web, it may possibly reach people it might not otherwise have.
 

Kilde said if people share the story with others, some good may well come from a tragedy that affected both families.
 

"I spent a career trying to prevent this ... if you touch a few people, that always has to be your goal."
 
 
Shelle Michaels 
ShelleMichaels@SoldiersAngels.org

Soldiers' Angels National Communication Officer
Vet Tix Board of Directors
Interservice Family Assistance Committee Communication Conduit
Bismarck Mandan Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Chairperson
North Dakota National Guard Family Advisory Council Member
ND Employee Support for the Guard and Reserve Committee Member

"Ask for what you want, or take what you get!"
~ Shelle Michaels
 

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