GETTING THROUGH TO YOUNG DRIVERS AT RISK:
STUDENT ADVOCATES TRAINING TO RAISE HIGHWAY SAFETY AWARENESS

This fall, more than 400 young safety advocates from local high schools and colleges gathered for a two-day safety conference at Georgia’s Callaway Gardens to learn how to influence others in their own age groups to save lives on our highways.

The Youth and Young Adult Highway Safety Conference was hosted by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) on October 12-13th, 2007 to help student representatives focus on new ways to communicate life-saving ideas to their peers in Georgia school systems.

“It’s called peer education and it works,”

says GOHS Director Bob Dallas.

“Our concept is this: If you want to effect changes in youth behavior, then you must pursue those changes through their own peer groups,” says Director Dallas. “GOHS provides the motivational speakers and an exceptional learning environment. Then we help these remarkable student highway safety advocates think about creative new ways to influence their peers away from life-threatening decisions.”

GOHS launched this groundbreaking youth safety conference model here five years ago as a collaborative effort between students from thirty Georgia high schools and fourteen Georgia Colleges. Since then, the number of high school chapters has more than doubled, accompanied by significant growth in participating colleges.

The high school groups are called “SADD”, an attention-getting name with some very positive credentials as “Students Against Destructive Decisions.” SADD was founded on the philosophy that young people who are empowered to help each other can become the most effective force in injury prevention.

Says GOHS Director Dallas,

“SADD’s original mission was to help these young people say “No” to drinking and driving. Today, the focus of that mission has shifted to include other potentially destructive decisions in the complex world of teenagers where substance abuse, violence, and suicide also threaten teen well-being.”

Student chapters at the university level continue to carry-on the lifesaving work of the peer education programs.

“We want these student chapters to discover how many innovative ways there are to raise awareness about the harm that can result from impaired driving and drug and alcohol abuse,”

said Director Dallas. That‘s why the slogan for this year’s conference mirrors the year-round life-saving initiatives of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety: “Buckle-Up, Slow-Down, Don’t Drink and Drive.. Be The Leader.”

“We get them talking about these major decisions like DUI & drug use, as well as simple things, like failure to use safety belts. These can all result in unnecessary injury crashes and deaths,”

said Director Dallas. So every year the Youth and Young Adult Highway Safety Conference is designed to help Georgia’s student safety advocates focus on the consequences of poor decisions that young adults can make without regard to the long-term impact on their lives.

The fifth annual conference was geared to expose Georgia students to new ideas currently finding success in other school systems. To encourage Georgia’s young safety advocates to excel and develop skills essential for leadership within their schools, GOHS lined-up local and nationally recognized motivational speakers, along with workshops targeted for high schools and colleges, and special exhibitors with presentations specifically targeted to reach the young demographics of this audience.

MADD MultiMedia Show Debut

MADD's nationally touring assembly show titled “Broadband” debuted for the first time anywhere in the Southeast at Callaway Gardens as the kick-off the GOHS Youth and Young Adult Highway Safety Conference. This high-energy multimedia presentation used three large screens and the latest in DVD technology to communicate age-appropriate messages for thousands of students each year. The show included relevant music, teen interviews, and blockbuster movie clips to enhance messaging with a fresh, high-tech look at issues teens deal with every day.

The MADD presentation featured a poignant, tragic and true story of a deadly crash involving three underage drinkers and educates youth on the challenges and consequences of the decisions they face every day. The show demonstrated to young drivers that just because they’re old enough to drive, it doesn’t mean they’re ready to drive. Teens are charged with the task of becoming more aware of the dangers associated with driving and encouraged to learn more before getting behind the wheel.

Safety Conference motivational speakers included:

• Patrick George has been involved in student leadership development for nearly ten years, starting in middle school, high school and then college. As one of the youngest professional speakers in America, Patrick has used his strong leadership background to help students see through their fears, remain positive and believe in themselves. He relies on his real life experiences to teach young people they can make a difference and succeed. Patrick concentrates on risk taking, positive thinking, and goal setting to have students see themselves both as caring individuals and as effective leaders.

• Eric Krug is a former standout college baseball player who travels the state sharing the powerful and inspirational story of the night he made a single horrible choice that ended his sports career and life as he knew it forever. This message is powerful.. The messenger is amazing. On his 21st birthday, Eric Krug and one of his teammates took a ride with a drunk driver. When that night had ended, so had the life of his best friend. The drunk driver crashed into a tree leaving Eric in a year-long coma with brain injuries that would last a lifetime. At the age of 30, Eric no longer has the strength to walk without assistance. He lost the use of his right arm, his long term memory, and his power of speech. Now, Eric’s inspiring message is given voice by his mother who has lived by his side through it all. Eric Krug had dreams of saving championships for the home team. Today his life’s work is saving lives, sharing his story with young audiences.

Safety Conference Workshops for Colleges included:

How to Partner with High Schools
Recruiting and Retaining Peer Educators
Effective Program Planning
Creating Task Teams and Community Coalitions

Safety Conference Workshops for High Schools featured:

“Feed the Side You Want To Win!”
(A Guide to Productive Decision Making for Young People)
Joshua’s Law (Georgia’s Teen Driving Laws)
Making the Transition
Drug and Alcohol Free Living for Teens
Peers Judging Peers! Courtroom Setting
Lights, Camera, Take Action
Motorcycle Safety
Project Director’s Training

Safety Conference expert speakers included:

Opening remarks were made by highway safety expert, Director Bob Dallas of the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety. Newly appointed GOHS Deputy Director Spencer Moore, whose many roles include highway safety advocate and motivational speaker, will give the closing address.

Presentations and Exhibits were by these Highway Safety Partners:

Safe Campuses Now
BACCHUS & GAMMA
Operation 21
Safe America
GTIPI-Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute
MADD-Georgia Cherokee County Chapter
Liberty Mutual & All State insurance companies
AAA Auto Club
The Georgia Trucking Association “No Zone Truck”
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office “Batmobile” mobile DUI testing unit
Jesup Police Department “Rollover Simulator”
Duluth Police Department Operation Drive Smart exhibit

Independent studies have shown that students in schools with an established SADD chapter are more informed about the risks of underage drinking, other drug use and impaired driving. Students in schools with a SADD chapter are also more likely to hold positive attitudes reflecting reasons not use to alcohol.

“..It is the mission of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety that upon leaving the Annual GOHS Youth and Young Adult Safety Conference, every participant will have the skills to become a true leader, the confidence to stand alone, the knowledge to make the right decisions and the compassion to listen to others..”

“..Our goal at GOHS is to have this highway safety advocacy and peer education program available in every Georgia public high school and university..”

For more information about the Youth and Young Adult Highway Safety Conference or any of these GOHS programs, contact Planners Barbara Jones or Brook Nash at GOHS at 404-656-6996.