Efforts to increase
awareness ramp up locally, nationally
By Jeff
Parrott, Journal
and Courier posted
Sunday, February 16th 2003
Across the United States in 2000, vehicular crashes were the leading cause of death among teens, killing nearly as many as the next three causes, homicide, suicide and accidental injuries, combined, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
That grim fact is why more public health experts, insurance companies, nonprofit organizations and even students are focusing on the need to protect young, inexperienced drivers from endangering themselves and others.
Katie Ly, a
"I noticed the problem more last year," Ly said. "I don't really know if it increased, but it just dawned on me. I was reading about it in the paper. Also, I have friends in other schools and they've had friends who've died. I wanted to prevent that before it happens at Jeff."
Ly was attracted by the fact that the national group Students Against Driving Drunk in 1997 changed its name to reflect its broader mission: to reduce reckless driving, no matter the cause, as well as curtail drug and alcohol abuse among teens.
Ly said she isn't surprised by statistics showing higher crash rates for teens, especially those involving teen passengers driven by other teens.
"It's definitely peer pressure," she said. "I think a lot of kids succumb to that and feel the need to impress their friends and other people, to get into social groups. Some kids enjoy the rush of being dangerous. I guess they feel that when they have other kids in the car, they're in control and going fast would be fun."
She thinks teens would be more receptive to traffic safety messages from other teens than from adults.
"You can connect with your peers on the same level," she said.
About 25 people have signed up for the group so far. In mid-May, they hope to plan a "Spirit Week" leading up to prom weekend. For instance, students could be asked to sign a "Contract for Life" with their parents, pledging not to drive after using drugs or alcohol.
"I'm not sure how effective it will be, but if people have them maybe their conscience will kick in if they're in a particular situation."
'Huge issue'
At
Program director Jeff Matthews explained the change.
"It's really becoming a huge issue, and no one in
His program, part of the Indiana University School of Medicine and funded largely by the Governor's Council on Dangerous and Impaired Driving, is gathering data and learning what types of prevention programs have worked well in other states. Within six months, he hopes to have secured grants from charitable foundations and to implement some type of preventative program.
Matthews said his research already has indicated that "parental involvement is key."
Calls are not pouring in, though. Out of 175 registrations from parents in eight states and three Canadian provinces, he has received just one call, and it was to report good driving, not bad.
Still, Direnfeld believes the program is working. That's because parents who participate place more restrictions and greater expectations on their teen drivers, he said.
"That fits with our goal to prevent crashes, not catch them," he said.
Direnfeld spent much of the 1990s developing programs at a
He started researching and designing the program three years ago as his son, Brennan, was about to get his license.
Direnfeld admits that teens might not like the program, "Frankly, they don't understand the nature of risk. They think they do and they talk the line about it, but they just don't have the wealth of experience that we adults have."
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I Promise Program Inc.
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(905) 628-4847 gary123@sympatico.ca www.ipromiseprogram.com