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'Safe teen driver’ campaign features peer-to-peer outreach and tools for parents

Joanna Jullien's photo
Sacramento Cyber Safety Examiner

SACRAMENTO -- The Safety Center Incorporated in Sacramento is hosting a “safe teen driving” campaign, sponsored by The Allstate Foundation, which features peer-to-peer and family-led contests, and access to distracted driving simulators available by appointment.

This type of campaign is important to counter distracted driving in the mobile-phone-enabled network culture. We struggle to put down the phone for many things, and it makes it difficult to become a defensive driver.

Gail Kelly is Vice President of Community and Parent Programs for The Safety Center Incorporated on Bradshaw Road in Sacramento.

“This is the first year of a teen safe driving contest that is one month long, and peer to peer,” Kelly said. “We are looking to see the impact on the hearts and minds of youth by building in a survey before and after.”

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The contest is open to school communities in Placer, Yolo and Sacramento counties. The deadline to submit your campaign plan is Mar. 15 and the campaign completion date is Apr. 30.

The Sacramento Safety Center also offers training and tools for parents. In particular, parents can schedule appointments for their teen to experience the hazards of distracted driving and the benefits of defensive driving.

According to Kelly, the FOCUS Simulator teaches defensive driving habits. “We had one 23-year-old train on FOCUS,” Kelly said, “His parents brought him in because he had been in three auto accidents since he started driving. At the end of the training, he said he realized the he wasn’t scanning enough.”

Our smart phones keep us tethered away from the physical here and now moments. So of course it stands to reason that being a defensive driver requires us to put down the phone and drive.

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(Ref: 562-e)

“We are looking to see the impact on the hearts and minds of youth by building in a survey before and after.” -- Gail Kelly, VP of Community and Parent Programs, The Safety Center Incorporated
“We are looking to see the impact on the hearts and minds of youth by building in a survey before and after.” -- Gail Kelly, VP of Community and Parent Programs, The Safety Center Incorporated
Photo credit: 
http://www.safetycenter.org/teensafedrivingcampaign/

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, Sacramento Cyber Safety Examiner

Joanna (jullien@surewest.net) and her husband have raised two sons in Roseville, CA. She has a degree from U.C. Berkeley in Social Anthropology (corporate culture). Her honors thesis was awarded the Kroeber Prize and funding from National Science Foundation grant. Joanna writes to help parents...

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