Abigial
Gerken
March
31, 2020
DMV
Youth Forward

Safer
Driver For Life High School Program

Driving
is a very dangerous action that we practice every day. Without a
second thought, we are all constantly one false action, one split
second away from ending a life. My plan to help encourage others to
drive distraction-free. I propose a weeklong campaign for a high
school that will engage students in raising awareness of the dangers
of driving distracted. It starts with an assembly on Monday where the
importance of driving distraction-free is explained, also the
week-long contest will be announced. There will be an art competition
to encourage students to create public service announcements about
distracted driving. Entries are able to be photos, videos, graphic
designs, and poems, encouraging all students to embrace their
creative abilities for a good cause. During this campaign, there
would be lunchtime booths led by students explaining the effects of
distracted driving, how to avoid it as a driver and also a passenger.
There will also be a pledge sign up to not text and drive for
students, giving out wristbands, stickers, and a raffle prize.
Several community-based clubs in the school like the National Honors
Society, Key Club, and DECA can be involved, working with different
parts of the campaign. At the end of the week on Friday, there will
be an after school gallery to showcase the work of students and to
vote on the winners. The purpose of this campaign is to flood
students with information. It is important to make sure that they
have accurate information available to them. By making this a
weeklong campaign and putting a lot of energy into it, it will retain
in the student’s memory better. This means that when they are put
in a decisive position, they will have the resources in their mind to
make the right choice, and choose to drive distraction-free. In
addition to this campaign, I think that in addition, schools can
encourage safe driving through simple gestures like adding a
distraction-free driving brochure to the back of the registration for
a parking pass and including signs that encourage safe driving. As
for myself, I vow to stop using my phone while driving. I can see
that it has been easy for me to justify switching songs while
driving, but that is not okay. I plan on putting my phone in the
center console while I am driving. I can prepare for distraction-free
driving by queuing up songs beforehand and turning on do not disturb
to mute my notifications. Overall, I think that informing students
about the dangers of distracted driving and giving them ways to avoid
it will decrease incidents and make our roads safer.