WASHINGTON — “Survive the drive and arrive alive.” That’s the catchphrase making rounds in Virginia as a way to get teen drivers thinking about safety.
Whether it’s a social media campaign or billboard, “we give them the opportunity to create some type of messaging on their own,” said Casey Taylor, program development coordinator for Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety.
“We can research all day and try to figure out the best way to reach young people, but [if] it’s really coming from them, they know how to reach their peers,” Taylor said of the group’s Arrive Alive campaign.
Between April 4 and May 7, students at more than 50 Virginia middle and high schools will participate in safety activities that might involve signing pledge banners or spray painting a lawn with safety messages.
“Sometimes they’ll pass out candy, like the Dum Dum suckers and it’ll say ‘Don’t be a dumb dumb, buckle up,’” Taylor said.
Middle school students have activities that focus on safe cycling and walking habits, and on being good passengers who don’t create distractions.
For young drivers, the most dangerous season of the year is approaching, Taylor said, citing statistics from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ Highway Safety Office.
“Over the past five years, teen drivers in Virginia were involved in 42,707 crashes during the months from May to August, with 174 of those crashes resulting in a fatality,” Taylor said.
Some tips from the Virginia youth group:
- Commit to responsible celebrations of prom, graduation and summer.
- Obey posted speed limits.
- Don’t go “cruising” or joy riding with friends.
- Buckle up every time and in every seating position.
- Avoid distractions. In Virginia, it’s illegal for drivers younger than 18 to use a cellphone.
- Limit numbers of passengers. In Virginia, drivers under 18 can carry only one passenger under 21 the first year they’re driving unless there’s a licensed adult in the car.
Teen drivers younger than 18 in Virginia are subject to a curfew that forbids driving between midnight and 4 a.m.
The Arrive Alive campaign also has a ‘scared straight’ component that involves wrecked cars being put on display at high schools under banners saying: ‘Don’t be a Party Crasher.’
