15th
Anniversary of
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®
The Everson Home, Omaha NE
Where Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® was born.
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
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
12418 C Street
Omaha, NE 68144
402-334-1391
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