Tuesday, August 13, 2013

15th Anniversary of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®




15th Anniversary of 
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®



The Everson Home, Omaha NE
Where Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® was born.

An idea first conceived during an early morning run in July, 1998, Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 has grown into a national non-profit based in Omaha, NE observing our 15th anniversary with a two-fold mission:

      1. Educating and engaging motorists in being the solution to traffic safety concerns by focusing on safe driving behaviors on neighborhood streets, and beyond.
     2. Supporting families of those who die in traffic incidents




Highlights of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25’s 15-year history include:

·         Collaborating to initiate community-based traffic safety education campaigns with law enforcement –over 500 agencies, neighborhood groups, public works, schools, businesses, and civic organizations in over 1,400 communities representing 49 States, 3 Canadian Provinces, Queensland State, Australia, and the Bahamas

·         Creating signature traffic safety education campaigns, including Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®, Stop! Take 3 To See®, It’s Not A Race! Create Space®, Be Aware! Drive With Care®, Seat Belts-FASTENATING!®, No Need To Speed®, and Check Your Speed®

·         The first pre/post study on the effect of a neighborhood KKAD25 yard sign campaign in Oceanside, CA which showed a 16% reduction in average speeds – published in the Urban Transportation Monitor, a traffic engineering periodical. Traffic engineers from as far away as Australia inquired about the benefits of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 campaigns for local communities.


KKAD25 Yard Sign Campaign in Oceanside, CA

·         The first pre/post study on the effects of utilizing trash can decals to engage all residents in sending the Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® message curbside in Oro Valley, AZ, which showed a 13.5% reduction in average speeds to 24.5 mph in 25 mph zones.

·         Building upon Oro Valley’s success to establish the “America’s Trash Talks to Keep KidsAlive” campaign, with sponsorship from GEICO, to assist communities throughout the U.S. in getting the message out curbside.


America’s Trash Talks in Joliet, IL

·         New Berlin, WI which through the direction of the Police Dept. has grown their campaign every year since 1999 – a 14-year run.

·         Supporting families of victims throughout the U.S. in creating legacies in honor of their loved ones. These have included legislative action (including HB 87 in Texas, which in 2005 changed State Law regarding ability of municipalities to lower speed limits in residential zones), memorial events, foundations, and educational campaigns.




Kyle Foster, inspiration for Texas HB 87
  

·         Establishing Live Forward! in 2013, an initiative designed to further the work of assisting families in establishing legacies to bring greater good into the world in honor of their loved ones.

·         Creating the “Run to Remember” team which since 2007 has taken on the Pikes Peak Ascent Trail Race each year in honor of loved ones who have died in traffic incidents and to raise awareness about the need to practice safe driving behaviors.


2012 Run to Remember Team at the Summit of Pikes Peak

·         Establishing the annual Run-Walk to Remember in Omaha to draw together family and friends of those who have died to honor their lives and to raise awareness throughout the community. In addition to Nebraska, participants have come from Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Missouri, and Washington.



2013 Omaha Run-Walk to Remember


·         Fremont Contract Carriers of Fremont, NE and R&M Transportation of Omaha, NE affixing “It’s Not A Race! Create Space® decals to tractor-trailers to move the message onto roadways across America thanks to a grant from the Nebraska Office for Highway Safety.



It’s Not A Race! Create Space® decal on FCC Trailer

·         The Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 logo appeared on Dateline NBC as the lead-in for a segment on neighborhood traffic safety.

·         Be Aware! Drive With Care® yard sign was featured as the lead-in to an episode of Modern Family in May 2013


Corporate Sponsors and Partners, including:
  • GEICO Philanthropic Fund
  • Ford Motor Company Fund's Driving Skills for Life
  • Plymouth Rock - Teachers' Insurance of New Jersey
  • UPS
  • Enterprise Rent-a-Car Foundation
  • Clear Channel Communications - Omaha
  • AAA Cornhusker Motor Club
Legacy Partners - Click on Names to Visit Web Sites
·         Articles in Parents Magazine and Ladies Home Journal

·         Presenting at numerous national & regional conferences & meetings on neighborhood traffic safety, including Lifesavers, Neighborhoods USA, the Environmental Industries Association, and multiple community forums in New Jersey, California, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma.

·         Recognition from the Omaha Police Dept. with the Spirit of Neighborhood Courage Award & by the Nebraska Chapter of the National Safety Council with the B’nai B’rith Safety Award.

·         Establishment of "A License to Live" to engage high school students in creating peer-to-peer safe driving educational campaigns with support from Ford Motor Company’s Driving Skills for Life.



The Future Business Leaders of America Class at
Friend High School in Nebraska kick-off local campaign

 Favorite Testimonial:

"My community – Coppell, Texas – made headlines two years ago as it tackled this issue. As a traffic engineer by training, I was hesitant of this program and lobbied the City Council to consider other engineering, enforcement, and education alternatives so that ‘mobility’ was maintained. I have to say that since this program was adopted and the speed limits on our streets lowered (5 mph) I do feel like I am keeping my village’s children safer, that I am more alert, that I am more in control of my vehicle, that I do share those streets with pedestrians, that my ‘mobility’ has not been greatly impeded, and that streets are not for the sole purpose of drivers in vehicles trying to make their way as quickly as they can in our hurried world."

Jason Crawford, P.E
Texas Transportation Institute

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 looks forward to continued growth in educating motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists alike to engage in behaviors that keep all people safe on and around roadways across America, and across the world as well. Learn more at www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org.

Tom Everson
Executive Director & Founder
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®  A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501c3
12418 C Street
Omaha, NE 68144
402-334-1391

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