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EnCompass®
The AAA Companion |
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November | December 2004
Volume 78 Issue 6
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Commentary
Teen Driving Coalition
Several safety-related organizations have joined
AAA Colorado on this issue
Several traffic safety-related organizations have now joined AAA Colorado's effort to develop and introduce legislation to restrict the number of teenage passengers in autos with newly licensed drivers.
The Teen Driving Coalition has been meeting since August 2004 to develop educational outreach strategies for legislators, media, parents and teens about teen driving issues in general, and specifically about the need for teen passenger restrictions. The list of partners is still growing.
For years, many of these organizations have worked tirelessly on safety issues related to teen drivers, and they bring energy, influence and resources to the cause-to save teen lives and reduce the number of fatalities attributed to newly licensed teen drivers.
Following are just four examples of the good work being done by coalition partners:
Available since 1996, the Colorado State Patrol's Alive at 25 program offers four hours of classroom instruction to drivers in the 15-24 year-old age group. The focus of the program is getting attendees to use safer driving techniques, take responsibility for their behavior in various driving situations and to be aware of many of the typical driving hazards. Between 1996 and 2003, 16,000 students completed the course.
On February 28, 2003, Caitlyn Craig-McLeod, Brian Ellsworth and Michael Heykoop were killed in a crash. The driver was a teen. Family members formed the Caitlyn Craig Memorial Fund, which is helping to make the Alive at 25 program available to any teen driver. During the first year of this unique partnership, 24,000 additional students participated in the Alive at 25
program.
Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association partners with the Colorado State Patrol and Klode Salvage to provide Colorado schools and community groups a driving exhibit titled the Safe Choices Program. The victims' families hope the exhibits-which are the actual autos involved in crashes with teen drivers-will help other teens understand the devastating impact of driving decisions.
In Parker last summer, the community was overcome by another tragic crash that took the lives of three teens and an adult driver. Parker's Miller Safety Center is in the process of fundraising to build a Crash Avoidance Training Center geared to teach teens how to
drive responsibly.
To find out more about what is happening in these communities,
and other information relating
to teen driver safety, go to www.aaa.com/teens.
Coalition Partners
AAA Colorado
AAA Insurance
Allstate Insurance
Bacchus Gamma Peer Educational Network
Caitlyn Craig Memorial Fund
Colorado Department of Health -
Adolescent Health and Injury Prevention
Colorado Department of Transportation
Colorado Driving Institute
Colorado State Patrol
Colorado Motor Carriers Association
Drive Smart - Weld County and
Colorado Springs
Rocky Mountain Insurance Information
Association
State Farm Insurance
Teen Smart Driving
USAA Insurance
Weld County Sheriff's Office
State-by-State Breakdown of
Teen Fatalities,
Age 16-19, By Restraint Use |
| State |
Unrestrained |
Restrained |
Unknown |
Total |
| Arizona |
63 |
21 |
10 |
94 |
| Colorado |
63 |
21 |
0 |
84 |
| Kansas |
40 |
15 |
9 |
64 |
| Montana
|
19 |
9 |
2 |
30 |
| Nebraska |
37 |
6 |
2 |
45 |
| New Mexico |
36 |
11 |
3 |
50 |
|
Utah |
31 |
16 |
1 |
48 |
| Wyoming |
12 |
8 |
0 |
20 |
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Source: F.A.R.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2002
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