Every 15 minutes someone dies in a traffic incident in the United States, and traffic fatalities are the number one cause of death for teens. We know this is one-hundred percent preventable. If a plane crashes and even a single passenger is killed, there is outrage and investigations, yet the public at large has remained complacent about the many deaths on our nation’s roads.
June 20, 2019 Feature
How Alive at 25 Helps Keep Teens (and Other Drivers) Safe on the Road
By Jane Terry
Judicial Council Court filing statistics show that 84 percent of all criminal filings are traffic-related, which includes infractions and misdemeanors. Judicial officers and law enforcement agencies across the country see millions of drivers each year for violations ranging from the minor to the egregious. Distraction, impairment, and speeding are key infractions that continue to cause injury and death, but it may take a hundred repetitions before even a minor violator is apprehended.
Today, traffic courts are on the front lines witnessing the need for behavior change. Sentencing drivers with fines alone does not change behavior, and young drivers do not do well in the judicial system. The National Safety Council (NSC) has been offering driving training for decades, and the Alive at 25 program offers advanced behavioral training to address the most at-risk driving population. The program was designed to act as an adjunct to traditional driver education as well as for traffic violators who are required by the court to take a driver improvement course. It has become a signature court-ordered program in districts across the country. Courts, community colleges, bar associations and state entities teach the Alive at 25 program in 38 states. The program has reached approximately two million young drivers since its inception.
Alive at 25 is utilized by state driver licensing authorities for license reinstatement and/or as part of their Graduated Driver Licensing GDL to address challenging novice drivers. The U.S. Armed Forces integrated Alive at 25 into their Driver Safety Training Program after estimating that more military members died in motor vehicle crashes on U.S. highways than in combat. Police officers know first-hand the results of poor driving decision by young people. Law enforcement that engages in community outreach through education results in safer roads in their community, and courts that implement a diversion program can streamline caseloads and have safer drivers.
“As a traffic court judge in a major metropolitan city, I have a unique perspective as to what’s occurring on our roadways; especially with teens and young adult drivers,” says Judge Rachel Bell of the Metropolitan General Sessions Court, Division 8 in Nashville. “I became a certified NSC Alive at 25 Instructor because I passionately believe that I can help change the attitude and behaviors of our youth while they’re behind the wheel.”
The program helps young drivers take responsibility for their driving by focusing on behavior, judgement, decision making and understanding consequences. The goal is to teach young drivers that they can make positive choices. By partnering with law enforcement and the judicial system, we look forward to working together to reduce traffic violations and fatalities.
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Since 1913, the National Safety Council (NSC) has been the nation’s leading safety nonprofit dedicated to making our world safer with the vision of “eliminating preventable deaths in our lifetime.” NSC advances this vision by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials, and the public to make an impact where the most preventable deaths and injuries occur, at work, at home, and on the road.