The Daily Times110
By DAVE WISCHNOWSKY
November 5, 2002
A promise worth keeping
Each year in North America, car crashes take the lives of 8,000 teenagers and
cause injury to
400,000 more, affecting families and towns across the map.
It’s unlikely, though, that many communities have been
harder hit this year than the 1,778 souls of
Earlville. Since February, the
crashes.
On Feb. 22,
18-year-old Earlville natives Anthony Zeno, Scott Olson and Spencer Moore were
all in a
Nissan that was broad-sided by another teen-driven
car at the intersection of U.S. 34 and
23 south of Leland. All three died.
Less than
five months later on July 11, tragedy struck Earlville again when 16-year-old
resident
Jordan Flavin was killed and three other teens — including Justin Moore, the
17-year-old brother of
Spencer — were injured in a crash just six miles east of the February collision.
Last week,
far away from
of Earlville, demonstrated his sadness over the town’s loss, and then proceeded
to lay out his plan
to help avoid such tragedy striking again. In Earlville, or
anywhere else.
“At the end
of the day,” said Canadian
night, and I want to help other parents see their children
home safely each night, too.”
It was February
2000 when Direnfeld, the father of a 15-year-old son, was driving behind a
transport truck en route to
dangerously through traffic.
“After I regained
my composure,” Direnfeld said, “I saw a 1-800 (How am I driving?) number on the
back of the truck and thought, ‘I wish I could phone that kid’s parents. “Because they’d rip the keys right out of his hand.’”
Reminded that his own son would soon be of driving age, Direnfeld — a social
worker whose job was
to develop and direct brain injury rehabilitation services
for youths injured in car crashes — was
struck with a novel concept for teen road safety. This past January, after two
years of
development, that idea came to fruition.
Dubbed the
“I Promise Program,” Direnfeld’s initiative is intended
to help reduce the risk of
teen-related car crashes — the leading cause of permanent injury and death in
North American
youths.
“Drunk driving
isn’t even the biggest reason for these crashes,” Direnfeld said. “There’s also
speeding, poor judgment, risk-taking, (distraction from) multiple passengers,
driving after
The “I Promise Program,” which costs a reasonable fee to join, is intended for
families with new,
young drivers, and involves parents and children agreeing on a mutual safe-driving
contract — one
that everyone vows to fulfill.
“It helps
get rid of the hypocrisy when the parent also has to buckle up and not drink
and drive,”
Direnfeld said. “Parents need to understand that safe driving starts with them.
Long before your
children are of driving age, they’re observing you as a driver.”
The contract, which can include items such as “I promise to drive sober,” “I
promise to wear my
seat belt,” “I promise to drive defensively,” and “I promise to keep my mind
on the road,” is
sealed by placing a decal with a toll-free phone number on the rear window of
the car. The number,
which connects to a call center, enables community members to monitor and report
on driver
behavior. Information received from a call is then sent
first-class to the family — and only the
family — to be managed as set out in the contract.
“The sticker acts as an ongoing reminder to drive safely,” Direnfeld said. “And
the goal (of the
program) is not to catch (bad drivers), it’s to prevent them.”
So far, it has.
“We’ve had
170 kids sign up for the program in seven
Direnfeld said. “To date, we’ve only had one call since our official launch
in January. The call
was from within
“I’ve got
to tell you, not all teens like it. And also some parents
say, ‘I don’t need this, my
teen is good and trustworthy.’ Well, the operative word is not ‘good’ or ‘trustworthy,’
it’s
‘teen.’ Parents have to recognize that teens are just too young and too inexperienced
to assess
risk properly.
“That’s why parents need to participate in this kind of program. It’s not that
your kids aren’t
good, it’s that they’re teens.”
And they deserve a chance to become adults.
To get more
information or to sign up for the “I Promise Program,” log on to www.ipromiseprogram.com
Contact:
I Promise Program
20
(905) 628-4847
gary123@sympatico.ca
www.ipromiseprogram.com