For Plainsboro resident Molly Fisch-Friedman, pictured at right, being the victim in a minor accident caused by a distracted driver who was talking on a cell phone turned into an idea for her Girl Scouts Silver Award project.
The 15-year-old sophomore at High School North and her mother were not hurt in the minor collision last March, but Fisch-Friedman began researching the topic, including the state statutes and information from the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety and got the idea to design and place signs around Plainsboro and West Windsor to remind drivers that it is against the law to talk on hand-held cell phones while driving.
Fisch-Friedman designed the signs, approached the Planning and Zoning boards of both towns and got approval to place the signs up in the two townships. This is especially important as West Windsor, in particular, has very stringent sign regulations that even affected the mayoral campaigns last May when both candidates were asked to remove their signs from certain areas in the township.
Fisch-Friedman said she approached West Windsor officials to determine the proper procedure for placing her signs, which read, “It’s NJ Law: Hands on the Wheel, Not on the Phone.” “They said it was a great project, and I think they thought this was a really good use of township sign space.”
In fact, they did, giving her permission to place the signs at intersections around town until September 24, as well as honoring her with a proclamation last month during a Township Council meeting. Township officials also told her she could put the signs back up during busy travel times — for example, around the holidays. In Plainsboro, Fisch-Friedman’s signs will be up until Saturday, September 26.
Fisch-Friedman — whose mother volunteers with String of Pearls Synagogue in Princeton, Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey, based in Plainsboro, and Girl Scouts and whose father is the senior director of environmental health & safety for Siemens Medical Solutions USA — says she had to pick an issue in her community and find a solution. “After I went through the accident, I didn’t want anyone to have to go through the trouble of having it happen to them,” she said. “It’s completely avoidable if you don’t talk on your cell phone. This is more than earning an award; it’s a personal issue to try to help other people.”
