The Record.com

The best view of Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Keeping teenage drivers on track

Thursday January 24, 2002
CHERRI GREENO
RECORD STAFF

KITCHENER -- When Shawn Heseltine first got behind the wheel of a car, he thought he was a race car driver.

And the road, he figured, was his race track.

That all changed one night when his track took an unexpected turn.

"I got into an accident and almost tore my (Pontiac) Firefly in half," he said.

Now, at the age of 25, the Kitchener resident has slowed down. He understands the consequences of reckless driving.

"I'm sure my parents want me to live for a while," he said.

Looking back, Heseltine sees his attitude was stupid. But he was a teenager with freedom just miles away.

It is this mindset that Hamilton social worker Gary Direnfeld is trying to wipe away. He has founded the I Promise Program, a newly launched initiative that helps parents and teens come to agreement on issues that relate to teen car crashes.

To take part, both parents and teens complete a mutual safe-driving contract that is sealed by placing a decal in the rear window of the vehicle. The decal displays a toll-free phone number, which encourages other drivers to call to report aggressive driving.

Calls are taken by a professional call centre and reports are mailed to the family.

Direnfeld said he came up with the idea after being cut off by a teenager. Shortly after the teen passed him, Direnfeld saw a "How's My Driving?" decal and toll-free number on the back of a truck.

And so the program was born.

"Car crashes are the leading cause of teenage death," Direnfeld said. "We continue to call them accidents but they aren't. Ninety-five per cent of them are preventable."

Direnfeld said the accident in Kitchener last weekend that killed 18-year-old Adam Keller should never have happened.

Two cars filled with teenagers were racing late at night on Fairway Road. Keller died after the cars crashed.

"Sadly, it was reported as an accident," Direnfeld said.

"It was not an accident. It was a preventable event."

John Richard of Waterloo said his four children were never allowed to drive his vehicle for fear they would crash.

"After what happened here, I worry about those young kids," he said, noting he would support the I Promise Program.

A similar program has been up and running in Texas since 1994 and gets many of its clients through the court process, Direnfeld said.

Those caught driving dangerously for the first time are given the option of signing up for the program.

Direnfeld said his program is voluntary and focuses on a mutual contract, meaning parents and teens have to agree to the stipulations.

"Parents and teens are held accountable," he said. "We want to position parents as models."

Lynn Schoenemann of Kitchener, whose 17-year-old daughter recently got her driver's license, said she would support the program.

"If you are conscientious (about) what you are doing then they will do the same thing," she said.

Direnfeld added that teens and parents are likely to be more aware of their driving because of the promise they made to each other.

"When you say 'I promise,' it's one of the strongest bonds you can make," he said.

Cost per family is $49, but is free to those teens insured with The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company.

So far this is the only insurance company offering the discount, but Direnfeld is hoping others will follow suit.

Since its launch this week, a few contracts have been signed -- but none so far in Waterloo Region.

"We are hoping this becomes a right of passage to getting the keys to the car," he said.

"Who doesn't want to keep their teenagers safe?"

To receive information on how to register for the program visit

www.ipromiseprogram.com

Contact:

Gary Direnfeld, Executive Director
I Promise Program
20 Suter Crescent,
Dundas, Ontario, Canada
L9H 6R5

(905) 628-4847
gary123@sympatico.ca
www.ipromiseprogram.com