Triopia awarded grant for safe driving program

Triopia Junior-Senior High School was one of 105 high schools in Illinois to receive $2,000 in grant funding to participate in the 2010-’11 Operation Teen Safe Driving program.

The initiative is designed to educate teens about driving responsibly in an effort to decrease the number of fatalities and injuries involving teenagers in Illinois.

Students identify issues relating to traffic safety in their community such as underage drinking and driving unbuckled, impaired or distracted. The selected schools will develop and implement a peer-to-peer based program.

The program is funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety and the Allstate Foundation.

Winners are selected from each region and will receive prize money to host a post-prom party.

The top five schools in each of the seven regions will be invited to send students to a “Driving Skills for Life, Ride and Drive” event sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund. Students will observe professional drivers on two separate courses demonstrating critical driving skills.

Teens will then drive the same courses with the professional driver in the passenger seat providing tips and assistance.

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The lurking danger of driving while texting

Alex Brown was a young, pretty, West Texas teenage girl with a rich life ahead of her. A quick sequence of events led to her lying in a field - dying.
The 17-year-old's death just over a year ago led to a crusade by her parents to encourage students to buckle up and stop texting.

Jeanne and Johnny Mac Brown travel to high schools around Texas to spread the message, and Tuesday they stopped for an assembly at Navasota High School.

Alex Brown was a senior at Seagraves High School, which is about an hour and a half southwest of Lubbock. Brown was ranked second in her class, but her college credits would have moved her to valedictorian by the end of the year and she would have had enough credits to be a sophomore in college the day she graduated high school.

"She was a good kid," Jeanne told the students at Navasota. "She loved people, no matter who they were or what they were. Everybody loved her."

On Nov. 10, 2009, Alex was running late for one of her college classes because she spent too much time on Facebook that morning, Jeanne said. That led to Alex scrambling so she wouldn't be TOO late for class. She took the more dangerous route to school - the route her parents always discouraged her to take.

Alex didn't buckle her seat belt. And then, while simultaneously carrying on text message conversations with four different friends, her pick-up truck spun out of control and crashed. Alex was thrown from her vehicle into a field. She just laid there, fading into consciousness and back out again, quickly leaving this world.
The state trooper who investigated that accident said that Alex was driving 70 miles per hour before she spun.

The Brown family followed Alex to an emergency room in Lubbock, where Alex died shortly thereafter.

The cell phone was still in the truck - and it still worked. Friends who had heard about the wreck continued to send messages to the phone. Those messages said to hang in there, and that they would come visit her in the hospital. Jeanne held Alex's phone up during Tuesday's assembly for the students to see.

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Teen driving: practice and parenting makes a better driver

Possibly one of the biggest dangers to teen drivers is themselves.

That's why many education programs require teens to only drive with one other teen in vehicle while they are getting their license.

But, a lot can be done by the parent to prevent accidents.

Twin Falls Driver’s Education Coordinator Mark Schaal said, "The more experience you can provide these kids the better drivers they're gonna be. Hopefully prevent them from being in any type of accidents."

Schaal says in his 23 year's of experience as a drivers instructor, he’s seen the students who come in with some knowledge of driving a vehicle do a better in class.
He said, "It comes down to an experience factor as the bottom line, the kids that have been out behind the wheel or been on some type of vehicle, have some ideas about the control the speed."

This can go a long way when educating teens on how to safely operate a vehicle.
But now a days it’s tough to keep teens eyes on the road with more distractions than ever. Cell phones are the latest distractions for teen drivers along with there peers.

Schaal said, "Anytime you get 4 or 5 teenagers in the car socially energized environment, sometimes bad things are going to happen. they get to driving things teenagers do and forget about the driving task at hand that's when the problems occure."

That's why teen's are required to only drive with one other person their age for 6 months after getting their license.

But, according to new statistics, parents play a big part in keeping their teens safe out on the road.

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Traffic cops educate students about safe driving

KANPUR: Road discipline ensures smooth and safe movement of traffic. The traffic cops visited Sir Padampat Singhania Education Centre on Thursday as part of the ongoing traffic month and apprised students about traffic laws.

The students from classes 6 to 12 witnessed the demonstration given by cops on safe driving in the school playground between 11 and 12.30 pm. SP traffic RP Gautam and CO traffic Surendranath Tewari emphasised on collective responsibility of the citizens on road safety.

Gautam said that the need of the hour is to cope with the increasing number of road accidents. The main reasons of fatal accidents are the poor condition of roads, vehicles or the mental state of the driver. He said that the parents are responsible for encouraging the under-age driving. The SP warned the students that action will be taken against the ones who violate the traffic rules.

Later, traffic cops Afaq Ahmed and Hari Shanker Verma gave a demonstration on safe driving. Ahmed emphasised that all persons should wear the seat belts while sitting in the car. One must wear a helmet while driving a two-wheeler and avoid use of a mobile phone.

CO traffic Surendranath Tiwari told the students about the aim of traffic awareness. He asked the students to read the pamphlets on safety rules. The CO said that overspeeding and breaking the law can be a thrill for sometime but ultimately a big loss for the family.

Class IX students were shown video on traffic rules and regulations.

Principal Reeta Midha advised the students to abide by traffic rules.

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UPS Delivers Safe Driving Expertise to Boys & Girls Clubs

On Nov. 15, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta and UPS are offering local Club members a comprehensive teen safe driving course – the UPS Road Code -- that incorporates UPS’s world-class safe-driving methods.

Teen driving accidents are the leading cause of adolescent deaths in America (1 in 3 teen deaths), and young people in Georgia often don’t have the driving skills they need to stay safe behind the wheel. To combat that, UPS and Boys & Girls Clubs of America have joined forces to teach teens to drive safer.

On Nov. 15, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta and UPS are offering local Club members a comprehensive teen safe driving course – the UPS Road Code -- that incorporates UPS’s world-class safe-driving methods. The four-hour session includes the latest interactive tools developed to train UPS’ newest drivers.

The UPS Foundation has given $2 million to this cause nationally and is supplying driving experts to serve as volunteer instructors. The Warren/Holyfield branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta is one of 22 Boys & Girls Clubs across the country participating in the UPS Road Code program.

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Oak Forest High School to stress safe driving

Oak Forest senior Alicia Tracy tried on a pair of goggles that are supposed to simulate what it's like to be drunk. But there was a serious purpose behind it.

Called Fatal Vision Goggles, the specs distort one's vision enough to make even the simplest of tasks incredibly difficult.

Giving demonstrations with the goggles is one way the school staff may do to stress the importance of safe driving.

Oak Forest recently received an Operation Teen Safe Driving Grant for the second year in a row, courtesy of the Illinois Department of Transportation. The district will take the $2,000 grant and implement a variety of activities to reinforce not driving while drunk or distracted by other things such as texting.

"They really throw off your equilibrium," Tracy said of the glasses. "I looked down at my feet and it felt like they were right in front of my. They really alter your depth perception."

The school's program will be from Dec. 1 through the end of February. School officials are still finalizing what activities they will undertake.

Oak Forest driver education and physical education teacher Tom Monahan said the program provides some necessary reinforcement of what he teaches in class.

It's programs like this that have contributed to fewer teen deaths in Illinois over the past few years, Monahan said.

He said giving kids more time to prepare and learn before getting their driver's licenses has helped too. In the past few years the state has increased the number of hours behind the wheel a student must have before getting their license from 25 to 50. A student must also have their learning permit for nine months instead of three before they can get their licenses.

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Safe Teen Driving Promoted Through New Programs

Car crashes account for the No. 1 way teens die. Several driving programs in Broward aim to curb that statistic.
BY EILEEN SOLER

SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD

If the number of teenagers killed by disease were as epidemic as the number of teens who die in car crashes, millions would pledge to find a cure.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that motor vehicle crashes, the No. 1 cause of death for teenagers, account for one in three teenage deaths nationwide.

Last year in Florida, 153 teens were killed in car crashes. So far this year, the teen death toll is 116.

During the past three weeks in Broward and Miami-Dade, five teens -- three age 17 and two age 18 -- died in automobile wrecks.

``We need legislation, but while we wait for that to happen we have to teach defensive driving,'' said Michael Rouse, Toyota's vice president of philanthropy, at a recent Toyota Driving Expectations defensive driving weekend for teens.

About 300 licensed teens and 400 parents turned out for 12 free driving sessions in the parking lot of Outdoor World in Dania Beach.

Toyota put the teens behind the wheel on courses that required them to do wrong so they could learn how to make it right.

With professional drivers in the passenger seat, the teens weaved through a slalom, drove at high speeds then slammed on the brakes, and allowed themselves to be distracted by cellphones, water bottles and other things.

``The biggest issue is distracted driving. Kids think they are invincible, so they do many things when they should be just driving,'' said Karen Polan, the program manager.

Of 33,808 traffic fatalities last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation blamed 5,474 on distracted drivers and called the problem ``an epidemic.'' Cellphone use was blamed for 995 of the deaths.

While kids learned safe driving, parents learned about common teen driving mistakes and got tips on how to be role models, coaches and mentors for good driving habits.
``Our goal is one goal only. That is to save lives,'' Polan said.

On Tuesday, 400 teenagers met in the auditorium of West Broward High School in Pembroke Pines to mark National Teen Driving Safety Week. The assembly, sponsored by the Broward school district and Florida Highway Patrol, gave kids a chance to hear the facts behind teenage crashes and the heartache it leaves behind.

Kyle Dailey, curriculum specialist for Broward Schools Driver Education Program, said teens are inundated with information and warnings about safe driving: Billboards, television commercials, school assemblies and their parents provide constant reminders.

Broward Schools offers free driving classes to about 9,000 teens per year at the county's 15 public high schools. Registration for the next session begins Nov. 1.
``But some of you listen and some of you don't,'' Daily told the teens. ``We're hoping that you all hear us so when it comes to making a crucial decision, you make the right decision.''

The message hit home for some students when Arielle Konen, president of the school's Key Club, recalled the death by car crash last year of West Broward High senior Christina Chaiken, 17.

``It's a real problem that we all have to deal with, like it or not,'' Konen told the students.

Some listened with heads in their hands and tears in their eyes when Donna Uzzi of Coral Springs spoke. Uzzi's son, Anthony Almonte, 16, died Nov. 15, 2009, after homecoming night at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Also killed in the crash were two of his classmates, Robert Nugent and Sean Maxey, both 16. One friend survived.

So far this year, teen deaths by car crash is showing a decline, but John Pisula of State Farm Insurance said much can happen before the year ends.

``Fall is the deadliest season for teen drivers and October is the worst month of all. Kids are back to school showing off their cars, we have homecoming and football games . . . guys soup up their cars, put the seat back and blast their stereo,'' Pisula said.

Pisula said he was struck personally by the tragic deaths of Kevin O'Connell and Ian Guckian, both 18, who were killed in an early-morning crash Oct. 5 in Miramar. Pisula is a friend of the parents of the boys, who were best friends.

Miramar police said the driver lost control of the speeding car, hit a tree, went airborne and slammed into a house. It was unclear who was driving.
Robert Schnell of Parkland, a retired Broward Sheriff's Office deputy and volunteer ambulance driver whose son, Michael Schnell, 17, attended the Toyota event, said a course in teen defensive driving should be mandatory. Michael's mother, Cindy Schnell, agreed.

``The more teenagers learn, the less chances they will take and the more careful they will be -- the less foolish they will be,'' Cindy Schnell said.

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MADD seeks random breathalyzer test for Teen Drivers

If Mothers Against Drunk Driving CEO Andrew Murie has his way, drivers across Canada could be forced to take a breathalyzer test anywhere, anytime — whether police suspect drunk driving or not.

And Murie may get it.

“We had one of Canada’s leading constitutional lawyers look at the issue of random breath testing,” said Murie, who was on-hand Tuesday for MADD Canada’s annual launch of its Project Red Ribbon campaign in Toronto. “He said it would probably be challenged but it would be upheld because driving is a privilege and the benefits to society far outweigh the infringement (on drivers).”

Murie has some big backers in the random breath testing debate.

Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has endorsed such a change in the law, echoing a June 2009 recommendation from the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights that Ottawa amend the criminal code to allow police across Canada to conduct random breath tests.

RBT would replace Canada’s current, 40-year-old way of doing things, where police can demand a breath test only if they have reason to suspect a driver is too drunk to drive.

Ottawa said it would talk to the provinces first, then consider the changes.

Murie sites countries that have RBT — Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and Ireland are some — pointing out they have seen less and less carnage on their roadways.

“We’re way behind the rest of the democratic societies,” said Murie. “There’s a difference of about 20% in the decrease in deaths and injuries (between) the countries that have it and the countries that don’t.”

But RBT is a slippery slope for a “free and democratic country” such as Canada, said Nathalie Des Rosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Increasing police power to that point, she said, would send the truth north strong and free toward becoming a police state.

“It’s about giving the power to the police to arrest someone anywhere, anytime and subject them to a criminal investigation where they have to comply, even though there is no reasonable grounds that they’ve done anything wrong,” said Des Rosier.

A big reason RBT won’t work, she said, is many of the hardcore drinkers will get behind the wheel, regardless of random testing.

There is also an overall lack of police spot checks, as well as not enough alternative transportation, such as taxis, Des Rosiers said.

Everyday people also need to be more proactive — if you see someone about to get behind the wheel, speak up, Des she said.

But Carolyn Swinson, past president of MADD’s Toronto chapter, may not agree.

Swinson looks at the issue from a personal perspective and like many current and former MADD staffers, she is driven by her own loss.

“I think about Rob every day,” said Swinson of her son, who was killed at the hands of a drunk driver 17 years ago.

Swinson, who still holds back tears when talking about it, says her son’s death set her to work toward a day when no parent has to go though what she did.

“You lose a child, and it is the most painful thing,” she said, “and you make a decision to take revenge or to do something, which is why I got involved with MADD.”

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Parents are the key to safe driving for teens

ROSEVILLE - We're in the middle of National Teen Driver Safety Week, and this year's theme is "Reducing Driving Distractions."

It's a cause that is near and dear to News10's Great Hang Up campaign. That's why we had a booth at Impact Teen Drivers' Teen/Parent Driving Safety Fair.

At Roseville's All American Speedway, California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow told the teenage crowd, "If you die premature in this world before your time, the chances are it'll be because of an automobile collision... and remember that. That's the most important thing you'll learn here today."

The big man on top at the CHP told us it's especially important to send the message to young drivers today.

"This is the generation that grew up on cell phones and grew up on texting," Farrow said. "It's what they do, and what we're trying to illustrate to them is you can't mix that with driving because your attention needs to be fully committed to driving. There are so many things going on simultaneously."

Many teens told us texting and talking on the cell phone is a way of life.

15-year-old Mikayla George said, "24-7, I probably text thousands of times a day."

The habit is one of a few distractions that kills thousands of young people every year behind the wheel. Farrow said he and his officers hate to be the bearer of horrible news by telling a parent his or her child is another victim.

"It's the most difficult thing we do, and I know it impacts all of our officers deeply when they have to do that," said the commissioner.

Farrow told us events like these are a great supplemental tool, learning defensive driving, making a promise like News10's Great Hang Up pledge, but the message must start and continue in the home.

Teen driver Alayjah Brown agreed, "We get lectures all the time. We'll be watching a movie, and she'll be just whispering in our ear, 'You don't want that to happen to you, make sure you're safe.'"

Alayjah's mother, Akeeya Johnson said those "lectures" would maybe one day save her children's lives.

"I just hope I'm doing what I can as a parent to protect her and keep her safe," said Johnson.

Farrow said Johnson is doing exactly what she should.

"We know what the cause is. We know what the antidote is, and the antidote is the parents. It's all about learning and all about teaching."

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Organization Promotes Safe Driving for Teens

By Don Riley/Network Indiana
10/19/2010

It's National Teen Driver Safety week, an opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving among young drivers.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens. Driver distractions are a contributing factor, including cell phone usage, passengers in the vehicle, eating while driving and loud music.

Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director Neil Moore says they've partnered with several organizations to promote safe teen driving habits statewide. He says the institute tracks volumes of crash data on Hoosier teens.

ICJI is paying close attention to how the graduated drivers licensing law is affecting teen driver safety.

The law, aimed at drivers under the age of 18, went into effect in July 2009 with additional restrictions added a year later.

In a couple of years, Moore hopes the data begins to show that limiting driver distractions and increasing the age to obtain a drivers permit reduces vehicle crashes among Indiana's teen drivers.

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Save And The Allstate Foundation Sponsor Teen Safe Driving Activities

The Allstate Foundation presented a $10,000 grant to Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) to assist SAVE chapters in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin in their efforts to increase youth safety and promote teen safe driving. This grant from the Allstate Foundation will support the SAVE program in schools and community agencies. Teen safe driving awareness campaigns will be conducted during key times of the year including back-to-school, holidays, Teen Safe Driving Month (May), prom, and graduation.

The North Chicago High School SAVE Chapter will participate in violence prevention and back-to-school rallies. The chapter will raise awareness by posting school safety and teen driving posters throughout the school and community. They are preparing classroom training sessions on how to avoid gangs and organizing a membership drive at middle and high schools. Students are planning and developing activities for National Youth Violence Prevention Week in March 2011. Students will participate in Daisy's Development and Resource Center's Telethon in October and conduct Teen Safe Driving activities with their local Allstate Agent and the County Coroner before prom in May 2011.

With support from Allstate agents and employee volunteers, SAVE chapters will be able to provide leadership in their schools and communities to ensure that all students will be encouraged and empowered with healthy life skills while engaging in educational activities and opportunities to promote teen safe driving and youth safety.

SAVE is a peer-to-peer organization that focuses on the power of positive peer influences. According to a recent Allstate Foundation survey, Shifting Teen Attitudes: The State of Teen Driving 2009, peers are a major influence on teens – both positive and negative. Some of the concerning statistics that SAVE chapters will address include:

• Eighty-two percent of teens reported using cell phones while driving.
• Nearly half (48 percent) of girls admit they are likely to speed more than 10 mph over the limit, versus 36 percent of boys.
• Seventy-seven percent of teens admit they have felt unsafe with another teen's driving.

“This generous grant from The Allstate Foundation will assist students in finding real solutions to the issues of teen safe driving that they face each day,” stated SAVE’s executive director, Carleen Wray.

Previous assistance from The Allstate Foundation has benefited SAVE schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin, California, Colorado, and Ohio.

“By empowering teens to become smart driving activists in their schools and communities, we hope to reverse the staggering statistics,” said Bill McGrath, Regional Sales Leader for Allstate’s Midwest Region of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. “Through programs like SAVE, we seek to develop innovative, teen-informed approaches to raise awareness of the issue and ultimately, to help save lives and reduce injuries.”

About the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere: SAVE started at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C. in 1989 following the tragic death of a student who was trying to break up a fight at an off-campus party. Students met first to console each other, then as an organization to promote violence prevention and to work together to prevent future incidents from occurring. SAVE provides education about the effects and consequences of violence and helps provide safe activities for students, parents and communities. For more information on SAVE or starting a SAVE chapter, visit www.nationalsave.org, or contact SAVE at (866) 343-SAVE to receive free start-up materials and guidance.

About The Allstate Foundation:
Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL). Allstate and The Allstate Foundation sponsor community initiatives to promote safe and vital communities; tolerance, inclusion, and diversity; and economic empowerment. The Allstate Foundation believes in the financial potential of every individual and in helping America's families achieve their American dream.

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Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), Inc. is a nonprofit organization striving to decrease violence in our schools and communities by promoting student involvement, education and service opportunities to provide safer environments for learning.

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Safe driving stressed to students

With the real-life tragedy of a car crash that killed four Tracy teens in mid-September, Millennium High School students heard a message Thursday that hit close to home.

“It’s scary: Right when you are learning how to drive, you are at the highest risk of getting in an accident,” Kelly Browning told the students in a morning assembly. She’s the California executive director of Impact Teen Drivers, an organization that endeavors to make teens aware of the risks of reckless and distracted driving.

Sophomore Jordan Northcutt said she’s starting to think about getting her driver’s permit, and the presentation was instructive.

“They gave good tips on how to drive,” she said.

The Sept. 18 crash near Schulte and Lammers roads left a recent Millennium graduate and three other Tracy teens dead. Investigators said the car was speeding when the driver lost control, ran up a dirt embankment and flipped over, landing in a nearby canal.

For more than an hour Thursday, folks from Impact Teen Drivers and the California Highway Patrol stressed the importance of safe driving to the charter school’s freshman and sophomore students by combining heartfelt talks, student participation and striking video presentations.

Teens, especially, are at risk of making fatal driving choices. Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for young people from ages 16 to 20, according to Impact Teen Drivers. About 25 percent of fatal teen crashes happen when alcohol and drugs are involved. The rest can be chalked up to recklessness, distractions and the inexperience of youth.

When Browning asked if anyone had ever lost someone they knew in a car accident, most of the students raised their hands.

“We’ve had kids going to teens’ funerals this year,” said Scott Snyder, a teacher at Millenium. “It was probably one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had.”

In his closing remarks, event partner Ken Ucci of Get Real Behind the Wheel recalled another teen driving fatality. His son Mike was killed in 2007 when a car he was in crashed in front of West High School.

“You and I have to make an effort to become more aware and look out for each other,” said Ucci, who added with tears in his eyes that his son would probably be attending University of the Pacific if he hadn’t died.

During lunch at the school, Ucci and Browning were out with the students, giving them a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win either $1,000 or enrollment in racecar driving school. Ucci also handed out safe driving contracts for teens and parents.

Read more: Tracy Press - Safe driving stressed to students

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