Business down ‘dramatically’as drivers fear going over limit
By KIM PEMBERTON, Vancouver Sun
Bar patrons are drinking less, or not at all.
Drinking establishments are reporting business is down “dramatically” — anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent since British Columbia’s tougher anti-drinking laws went into effect last week.
The general feeling is “people are being very cautious,” fearing if they go over the .05 per cent blood alcohol level they risk having their car impounded, said Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Association.
“People are scared. They don’t know what it takes for them to reach .05, so while they might go out they won’t drink or certainly not as much. It’s impacting restaurants in terms of sales,” said Tostenson, adding that how much revenue is down as a result of the new law won’t be known for another month.
To try to deal with a drop in business, some pubs and restaurants are either offering a shuttle service or considering it.
Woody’s on Brunette Pub in Coquitlam is considering a pilot project to provide a shuttle service after seeing business drop 10 per cent in the first week, said owner Gordon Cartwright.
“It’s definitely impacted our business. We’ve noticed a slowdown in our day business and after work business [as a result of the new anti-drinking laws],” he said.
“The public is just trying to figure out how much they can drink without worrying about it — knowing their limits.”
At Fox’s Reach Pub and Grill, owner Todd Arbuthnot said he plans to buy two vans for his pubs in Ladner and Maple Ridge to drive people home after they have been drinking.
“It’s especially needed in Maple Ridge because there isn’t much housing there so we don’t get walk-in traffic. People are having to drive 15 to 20 minutes home. It’s frustrating because no one knows where they stand. It seems everyone knows a friend who had their licence suspended after two beers,” he said.
Arbuthnot said he noticed a “dramatic” drop in alcohol consumption of about 30 per cent a day since the new law took effect.
“People aren’t ordering [alcohol] any more. They won’t take the chance because in Maple Ridge everyone needs to be able to drive to work or to get their kids to school.”
Attorney-General Mike de Jong said the threshold of .05 has been in place for more than three decades — it’s the penalties that have changed.
New penalties start with a three-day driving ban and $200 fine for anyone caught with a blood alcohol concentration of more than .05 — up from the previous 24-hour suspension.
Those who blow more than .08 face a 90-day driving ban, a $500 fine and mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device — regardless of criminal charges that may be laid.
Repeat offenders can expect heavier fines and longer suspensions.
“Two weeks ago, if you drove a car after drinking and had an alcohol level over .05, you could be issued a temporary suspension. What’s new is the seriousness of the penalty, no doubt about it,” said de Jong.
The attorney-general added that “it’s clear that people are talking about this. The potential loss of your vehicle and loss of your licence has registered with the public — and that is what was intended. Too many people have been getting behind the wheel of a car after consuming too much alcohol.”
In Port Moody at the Golden Spike Pub, managerial partner Cheryl Semenuik said she especially noticed the decline on week nights when sports teams stopped coming in for a drink after their games and the after work crowd stopped coming as well.
“It’s been rough across the board in the industry. We’ve seen our liquor consumption down 30 to 40 per cent,” she said.
“It’s a big cut. People are scared. Everyone has a story. We heard of one neighbourhood pub where 22 people were arrested on a weekend right after closing. A guy in our sports pool said his secretary had one glass of wine with a salad at lunch and she got pulled over after doing a U-turn. They made her blow and she lost her car [for a three-day impoundment].”
She said at her pub she’s noticed the parking lot is now two-thirds full first thing in the morning because patrons are opting to go home by taxi and pick up their vehicles later.
And while the Golden Spike Pub always offers a shuttle service on New Year’s Eve, they too are considering purchasing a full-time shuttle van to try to encourage patrons to start drinking more again.
At the St. James’s Well in Port Moody, general manager Mike Read said while he hasn’t noticed a dramatic drop in business, because most of their regular patrons live within walking distance, he has a 20 per cent drop in “people just popping in for one or two after work.”
“I might have had one beer after work myself but even I won’t do that any more because I don’t know where I sit in terms of 0.5 per cent,” he said.
Read said while he appreciates the new law makes people think more about how much alcohol they’ve consumed before driving, he called it “a little draconian.”
“It’s almost saying zero tolerance,” he said. “There’s a perception that there’s a certain percentage of people who will be over 0.5 per cent with a single drink.”
Shark Club, in downtown Vancouver, hasn’t seen a decrease in business because their patrons are generally coming in after a game downtown.
Assistant general manager Christine Cairns said they’ve already made arrangements to get home safely after driving or taking the SkyTrain, which is nearby their restaurant.
“There’s a lot of buzz in the industry and it’s something to be aware of that one drink could put you over the limit if you’re not eating. “We’re a full service restaurant so the majority of people are having a good meal,” she said.
Her concern is the province has to continue SkyTrain service after 1 a.m. considering most places serving liquor in downtown Vancouver stay open until 2 a.m. and on Granville until 3 a.m.
Source
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Monday, October 25, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Man Penalized for Driving while Drunk
A 29-year-old Honolulu man began serving an 18-month prison term this morning for the negligent homicide death of Outrigger Hotels and Resorts manager Ray Kanemori in January.
When he gets out of prison, Elwyn Keomaka, II will be on probation for five years and must also perform 500 hours of community service, at least some of that time with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"We will be taking full advantage of this opportunity to fashion a powerful message for others," said Jennifer Dotson, executive director of MADD Hawaii.
Dotson said this is the first time a state judge has sentenced a defendant to perform community service specifically with MADD.
Circuit Judge Edwin Nacino sentenced Keomaka to the probation, prison time and community service this morning after the prosecutor recommended 10 years in prison and Keomaka's lawyer asked for probation. Nacino also revoked Keomaka's drivers license for five years.
Keomaka was driving drunk the wrong way on a one-way street in Waikiki Jan. 18 when his car struck and killed Kanemori. The long-time Outrigger manager had just gotten off work and had entered the street from between two parked cars.
The state said Keomaka was traveling 29 mph in a 25 mph zone and his blood-alcohol content was 0.12 two hours later.
State law prohibits anyone with a BAC of 0.08 or higher from operating a vehicle.
Keomaka pleaded no contest to first-degree negligent homicide in August.
His lawyer Howard Luke said Keomaka has not driven or consumed alcohol since Kanemori's death. And he said it was Keomaka who suggested the community service with MADD.
Source | Alco-Buddy Solution
When he gets out of prison, Elwyn Keomaka, II will be on probation for five years and must also perform 500 hours of community service, at least some of that time with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"We will be taking full advantage of this opportunity to fashion a powerful message for others," said Jennifer Dotson, executive director of MADD Hawaii.
Dotson said this is the first time a state judge has sentenced a defendant to perform community service specifically with MADD.
Circuit Judge Edwin Nacino sentenced Keomaka to the probation, prison time and community service this morning after the prosecutor recommended 10 years in prison and Keomaka's lawyer asked for probation. Nacino also revoked Keomaka's drivers license for five years.
Keomaka was driving drunk the wrong way on a one-way street in Waikiki Jan. 18 when his car struck and killed Kanemori. The long-time Outrigger manager had just gotten off work and had entered the street from between two parked cars.
The state said Keomaka was traveling 29 mph in a 25 mph zone and his blood-alcohol content was 0.12 two hours later.
State law prohibits anyone with a BAC of 0.08 or higher from operating a vehicle.
Keomaka pleaded no contest to first-degree negligent homicide in August.
His lawyer Howard Luke said Keomaka has not driven or consumed alcohol since Kanemori's death. And he said it was Keomaka who suggested the community service with MADD.
Source | Alco-Buddy Solution
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."
Source
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."
Source
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.
Source
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.
Source
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Starting your very own small business with Alco-Buddy
We all can agree that the economy is in a real tough state and jobs are very scarce. What better way to get rid of the dependence of an employer and start your very own business. Alco-Buddy gives everyone the opportunity to start thier own business by putting the Alco-Buddy Breathalyzer Vending Machine product in establishments in the community of choice. Not only will you the business owner make money off the Alco-Buddy product but also you will be promoting awareness and setting the tone in the establishment showing that the owners care about thier customers.
Alco-buddy has many package deals that will help new and existing business owners to get started. Alco-buddy machines can be purchased as single units or in large quantities. By purchasing an Alco-Buddy Breathalyzer Machine(s) you are also supporting safe and responsible drinking. The Alco-Buddy business is committed to helping you become successful and how to start up your very own growing business. Alco-Buddy can help you choose the best target businesses in your area and show you the does and what nots of the business.
For more information on Alco-Buddy and how to start your business today, visit our website. We look forward to working with you. www.alcobuddy.com
Alco-buddy has many package deals that will help new and existing business owners to get started. Alco-buddy machines can be purchased as single units or in large quantities. By purchasing an Alco-Buddy Breathalyzer Machine(s) you are also supporting safe and responsible drinking. The Alco-Buddy business is committed to helping you become successful and how to start up your very own growing business. Alco-Buddy can help you choose the best target businesses in your area and show you the does and what nots of the business.
For more information on Alco-Buddy and how to start your business today, visit our website. We look forward to working with you. www.alcobuddy.com
Abolish Drunk Driving Laws
If lawmakers are serious about saving lives, they should focus on impairment, not alcohol.
Radley Balko | October 11, 2010
Last week Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo advocated creating a new criminal offense: "driving while ability impaired." The problem with the current Texas law prohibiting "driving while intoxicated" (DWI), Acevedo explained, is that it doesn't allow him to arrest a driver whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) is below 0.08 percent without additional evidence of impairment.
"People sometimes focus on how many drinks they can have before they'll go to jail," Acevedo told the Austin-American Statesman. "It varies….A person may be intoxicated at 0.05, and you don't want them out driving." Acevedo wants to be able to arrest people with BAC levels as low as 0.05 percent, and he may have support for that idea in the state legislature. John Whitmire (D-Houston), chairman of the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee, told the Statesman Acevedo's plan "might be one way to go," adding, "Some people shouldn't be driving after one drink—probably below the 0.08 limit—and this could address that."
Bill Lewis, head of the Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agreed. "I don't see how it would hurt," he told the paper. "The level of 0.08 is where we know most people are good and drunk...and there are people who are driving at less than the limit who probably should not be. It might keep some people from driving [drunk] again."
Acevedo, Whitmore, and Lewis are right, although probably not in the way they intended. People do react to alcohol differently. For many people one drink may well be too many, while experienced drinkers can function relatively normally with a BAC at or above the legal threshold for presuming intoxication. A person's impairment may also depend on variables such as the medications he is taking and the amount of sleep he got the night before. Acevedo et al.'s objections to the legal definition of intoxication highlight the absurdity of drawing an arbitrary, breathalyzer-based line between sobriety and criminal intoxication.
The right solution, however, is not to push the artificial line back farther. Instead we should get rid of it entirely by repealing drunk driving laws.
Consider the 2000 federal law that pressured states to lower their BAC standards to 0.08 from 0.10. At the time, the average BAC in alcohol-related fatal accidents was 0.17, and two-thirds of such accidents involved drivers with BACs of 0.14 or higher. In fact, drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.03 were involved in more fatal accidents than drivers with BACs between 0.08 and 0.10. (The federal government classifies a fatal accident as "alcohol-related" if it involved a driver, a biker, or a pedestrian with a BAC of 0.01 or more, whether or not drinking actually contributed to the accident.) In 1995 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied traffic data in 30 safety categories from the first five states to adopt the new DWI standard. In 21 of the 30 categories, those states were either no different from or less safe than the rest of the country.
Once the 0.08 standard took effect nationwide in 2000, a curious thing happened: Alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased, following a 20-year decline. Critics of the 0.08 standard predicted this would happen. The problem is that most people with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.10 don't drive erratically enough to be noticed by police officers in patrol cars. So police began setting up roadblocks to catch them. But every cop manning a roadblock aimed at catching motorists violating the new law is a cop not on the highways looking for more seriously impaired motorists. By 2004 alcohol-related fatalities went down again, but only because the decrease in states that don't use roadblocks compensated for a slight but continuing increase in the states that use them.
Read Full Article Here
Radley Balko | October 11, 2010
Last week Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo advocated creating a new criminal offense: "driving while ability impaired." The problem with the current Texas law prohibiting "driving while intoxicated" (DWI), Acevedo explained, is that it doesn't allow him to arrest a driver whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) is below 0.08 percent without additional evidence of impairment.
"People sometimes focus on how many drinks they can have before they'll go to jail," Acevedo told the Austin-American Statesman. "It varies….A person may be intoxicated at 0.05, and you don't want them out driving." Acevedo wants to be able to arrest people with BAC levels as low as 0.05 percent, and he may have support for that idea in the state legislature. John Whitmire (D-Houston), chairman of the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee, told the Statesman Acevedo's plan "might be one way to go," adding, "Some people shouldn't be driving after one drink—probably below the 0.08 limit—and this could address that."
Bill Lewis, head of the Texas chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agreed. "I don't see how it would hurt," he told the paper. "The level of 0.08 is where we know most people are good and drunk...and there are people who are driving at less than the limit who probably should not be. It might keep some people from driving [drunk] again."
Acevedo, Whitmore, and Lewis are right, although probably not in the way they intended. People do react to alcohol differently. For many people one drink may well be too many, while experienced drinkers can function relatively normally with a BAC at or above the legal threshold for presuming intoxication. A person's impairment may also depend on variables such as the medications he is taking and the amount of sleep he got the night before. Acevedo et al.'s objections to the legal definition of intoxication highlight the absurdity of drawing an arbitrary, breathalyzer-based line between sobriety and criminal intoxication.
The right solution, however, is not to push the artificial line back farther. Instead we should get rid of it entirely by repealing drunk driving laws.
Consider the 2000 federal law that pressured states to lower their BAC standards to 0.08 from 0.10. At the time, the average BAC in alcohol-related fatal accidents was 0.17, and two-thirds of such accidents involved drivers with BACs of 0.14 or higher. In fact, drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.03 were involved in more fatal accidents than drivers with BACs between 0.08 and 0.10. (The federal government classifies a fatal accident as "alcohol-related" if it involved a driver, a biker, or a pedestrian with a BAC of 0.01 or more, whether or not drinking actually contributed to the accident.) In 1995 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied traffic data in 30 safety categories from the first five states to adopt the new DWI standard. In 21 of the 30 categories, those states were either no different from or less safe than the rest of the country.
Once the 0.08 standard took effect nationwide in 2000, a curious thing happened: Alcohol-related traffic fatalities increased, following a 20-year decline. Critics of the 0.08 standard predicted this would happen. The problem is that most people with a BAC between 0.08 and 0.10 don't drive erratically enough to be noticed by police officers in patrol cars. So police began setting up roadblocks to catch them. But every cop manning a roadblock aimed at catching motorists violating the new law is a cop not on the highways looking for more seriously impaired motorists. By 2004 alcohol-related fatalities went down again, but only because the decrease in states that don't use roadblocks compensated for a slight but continuing increase in the states that use them.
Read Full Article Here
Saturday, October 9, 2010
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.
# # #
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.
Source
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.
# # #
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.
Source
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