The 'I Promise
Program' relies on family pledge
News Herald –
Using a dry-erase board to communicate,
17-year-old Aaron Anderson first asked me to stand on the right side of his
hospital bed because he couldn't see me well; his left eye was still recovering
from the surgery in which doctors rebuilt the orbital socket. Looking to his
left was painful.
I moved, and we talked about the car
accident that had resulted in a broken jaw, a tracheotomy and other injuries -
the basis of a report in the Jan. 13 News Herald in which Aaron begged
other teens to wear their safety belts.
He tired quickly, and after a few
minutes of conversation I told him I would leave to let him get some rest. He
held up his hand to make me pause, then scribbled
quickly on the board:
"Make it the best you've ever
done. Show them how important it is. Make them see."
I wrote that message in my notepad
and showed it to him to illustrate how seriously I took his request. I promised
him I would do what I could.
In that continuing effort, let me share information received by e-mail from
Gary Direnfeld, a social worker in
"At the end of the day, every
parent wants their son or daughter to return home safely each and every time
they take the car or are a passenger of another teen driver," Direnfeld
said. "At the end of the day, I wanted our son to return home safely
too."
His system requires parents and
their teen-age child to enter a contract with each other that clarifies their
mutual driving behavior expectations and responsibilities. The parent promises
to keep the vehicle in proper running order, to act as role models for their
children when on the road, and to support the child as a new driver; the child
promises to abide by rules of safety and avoid reckless driving.
The "I Promise Program"
pledge: to drive safely, not to drink and drive, to use safety belts and to
drive defensively.
A key part of the program is a decal
affixed to the rear window of the family cars. The decal has a toll-free number
on it that allows witnesses to report bad driving by the vehicle's operator.
Any reports are mailed to the parent, who can determine who was driving the car
at the time of the call.
(Two decals and one year of
reporting service is $49.)
According to the Web site, the decal
signals to the teen that the parent accepts the responsibility of being a role
model, and it signals to the parent the teen's maturity in accepting the
responsibility of safe driving. It is also a constant reminder to both parties
of their mutual obligations to each other and the community.
As Aaron said, wearing a safety belt
is not enough: "It's no good if you wear it and don't drive like you have
a damn brain."
The writer can be contacted at tsimmons@pcnh.com
http://66.21.108.67/interconnect/index/STAUFFER-GOLD.INTERCONNECT$STORY
Contact:
Gary Direnfeld, Executive
Director
I Promise Program
20
(905) 628-4847
gary123@sympatico.ca
www.ipromiseprogram.com