The Time is Now to Keep Kids Alive!

"Don't let the 2 minutes you save 

be the last 2 minutes of someone's life."

David Townsend, Tia's Dad 

(11 year-old Tia died when struck in a marked crosswalk with a Stop sign 

by a motorist who veered around the car stopped in front of him)

Does it take death to get us to wake up to the fact that the time is now to make a life-giving difference in our driving behaviors?

I hope not.

Today the time is now. Tomorrow the time will be now. Next week, next month, next year, the time will still be now. The time is always right to practice safe driving behaviors.

Do you need directions about what to do now?

Here are several...

...walk around your vehicle to make sure their are no kids playing behind or around it before I get in.

...hide your cell phone - where you can't reach it - so that it does not serve as a distraction as you drive (remember when no one had to worry about doing this? Cell phone use while driving is becoming the new "Drunk Driving")

...don't drink and drive

...buckle up every trip and expecting all passengers to do so, no matter the distance

of the trip

...stop at stop signs and taking 3 seconds to look left, look right, look left again - work hard to make sure the street really is clear of other moving vehicles, pedestrians trying to cross, and cyclists making their way along roadways.

...observe the speed limit, and drive slower when weather conditions or the presence of children at play, pedestrians, and cyclists dictate doing so.

...be a thinker and use your blinker to signal all turns and lane changes

...create 3-4 seconds of following distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you so you have time to react to the driving actions of others.

Repetitive practice of all these behaviors, and more, is what helps us improve our driving skills each day. None of us will ever be perfect drivers - but, are we - you - driven toward perfection each time we (you) get behind the wheel? Our answer and subsequent actions can be a matter of life and death, possibly even our (your) own.

It's About Kids! It's About Safety! It's About Caring! It's About Time!®

Safe travels,

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®

A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)


402-334-1391


12418 C Street
Omaha, NE 68144


www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org 

Make your donation to support the KKAD25 mission today @ KKAD25 Donate. A personal thank you note will arrive in your mailbox (not your e-mail box).

Driven by Love

Imagine these scenarios behind the wheel...

...you are approaching your home as your young child runs out the door to meet you. How would you drive?

...you approach a stop sign and see your child also approaching that same intersection riding their bike (with a helmet on, of course). How would you drive?

...you are driving down a road in your town knowing that your child is headed the opposite direction as a passenger in the car of a friend. How would you drive?

...you are driving behind your spouse's car which also carries your children. How would you drive?

...your 16 year-old is out on the road at the same time you are. How would you drive to protect her or him?

At any time of day, one or more of these scenarios are playing out for families on every roadway in America. Are you driven by love to focus on the only task that matters - to focus solely on safe driving behavior? 

Why be driven by love? Simply answer two questions: Who do you love? Who loves you? Your answers will be all the reasons you ever need to be driven by love.

Find out how to engage all drivers in your community to be driven by love @ www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org

Support the Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 mission @ KKAD25 Donate. A personal thank you note will follow. Your generous giving keeps kids living.

A License to Live!

Dear Friends in Traffic Safety,

When you look at your driver's license, what do you see?

Is it simply a license to drive? Or, could it be a license to live?

Viewing it as a license to live opens up all sorts of possibilities about what we each can do to ensure that all our passengers, and all other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and kids at play we encounter on or around roadways continue to experience the gift of life at the end of each day.

What does a license to live look like? It looks like:

• Buckling up, and making sure all passengers are buckled up, each and every trip - no matter how short or how long. Buckling up increases the likelihood of surviving a crash by more than 60%. Seat Belts- FASTENATING!^®.

• Putting aside distractions - cell phones, personal grooming items, food, reading materials, etc. Make driving the sole focus and purpose for being behind the wheel.

• Observing the speed limit - or go slower in the presence of pedestrians, cyclists, kids at play, or due to bad weather. Be Aware! Drive With Care^®

•  

• Stopping at each and every stop-light and stop-sign. Stop! Take 3 To See^® - make sure the coast really is clear before proceeding. 200 pedestrians deaths and 17,000 injuries each year are the result of drivers running stop signs.

• Not tailgating - leave 3 seconds distance between yourself and the vehicle ahead of you. Remember, "It’s Not A Race! Create Space™." 29% of crashes are a result of poor space management.

• Taking the message "Don't Drink and Drive!" seriously. Even with the emphasis on this message for decades, still we read about alcohol-involved fatalities every day. We cannot stress this message enough.

Each day will present you with hundreds of opportunities to exercise your license to live. The life saved may be your own or someone you love.

Bring A License to Live to high schools in your community. Call 402-334-1391 or e-mail kkad25@kkad25.org

Remember, “Don’t let the 2 minutes you ‘save’ be the last 2 minutes of someone’s life.” David Townsend (Tia’s dad – Tia died at age 11, when struck by a motorist who chose to go around the stopped car in front of him while she and a friend were walking across the street in a marked crosswalk.)

Safe travels,
Tom Everson
Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 - A Non-Profit "For Action" Organization 501(c)(3)
402-334-1391

Visit our blog at KKAD25 Blog
Make your tax deductible donation today at www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org. Click KKAD25-Donate Now!
Your generous giving keeps kids living. Thanks!

Do You Drive Like a 16 Year-Old?

Do you drive like a 16 year-old?

If you are 16, this question should not bother you. You are young. You are a new driver. You are learning. The information that follows can be part of your learning experience behind the wheel. For those of us who have been driving for any amount of time at all, this question invites us to pay attention to the research and examine our own driving behaviors.

In his book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), Tom Vanderbilt cites research related to cell phone use by drivers. For example, “Visual-spatial tasks…cause our eyes to fixate longer in one place than when we when we are asked to perform verbal tasks. The longer the fixation, the more attention we are devoting to the task – and the less we are giving to other things, like driving.” (Page 87)

What does this mean for us? It means is that when a driver is talking on a cell phone (a verbal task), it takes away from concentration on the road, and surroundings. In fact, one study noted that drivers talking on cell phones “tend to rigidly lock their eyes ahead.” (Page 88) This mimics the tendency of new drivers (16-17 year-olds) to lock their vision on what is in front of them, such as staying in their lane – an important task – but one which needs to be coupled with the use of peripheral vision. In short, our vision needs to pay attention to everything going on around us. Our brains are not wired to do this when we are talking on the phone (whether hands-free or not). Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is a myth. Rather, we need to be mono-tasking - paying attention to that one most important thing - driving.

Vanderbilt makes the point, “Having your eyes on the road doesn’t do any good unless your attention is on the road too.” (Page 89) Given this, we can ask and wonder just how many loved ones die as a result of drivers paying attention to tasks that distract them from the real task at hand – driving.

When it comes to honing our driving skills, here are a few behaviors to practice as you mono-task behind the wheel.

...turn off all cellular devices - including hands-free - and set aside until you reach your destination

...observe all posted speed limits, and adjust downward due to presence of children at play, cyclists, road and weather conditions

...create space between your vehicle and others around you, so you have time to react to the driving behaviors of others

...use your blinker to signal all turns and lane changes

...stop - take three to see at all stop signs regardless of whether or not anyone is present - it is your chance to practice making complete stops so you are ready the one time that someone does seem to appear out of nowhere

...observe all traffic signals and traffic signs

“Don’t Let the 2 Minutes You ‘Save’ 

Be the Last 2 Minutes of Someone’s Life.”

David Townsend (Tia’s father)

Safe travels,
Tom Everson
KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® - A Non-Profit “For Action” Organization -501(c) (3)
www.KeepKidsAliveDrive25.org
Make your donation today @ KKAD25 Donate

A "Fail-Proof" Life-Giving Resolution for 2014

A "Fail-Proof" Life-Giving Resolution for 2014

According to researcher Richard Wiseman, a full 88% of New Year's resolutions fail. However, as we welcome 2014, here is one fail-proof resolution that makes a life-giving difference all year long. You can't go wrong by making a monthly donation, for as little as $10.00 a month (less than the cost of a good takeout pizza), through the Keep Kids Alive Drive 25 Network for Good page

Know that your generous giving makes a life-giving difference all year long. Thank you!

Make "Mono-Tasking" Your Resolution for 2014 - And Beyond!

Listening to Tom and Ray on "Car Talk" this morning I was struck by a wonderful phrase they used as they lamented the growing legion of drivers who believe it is possible to multi-task behind the wheel. The phrase they used to describe preferred driver behavior is "mono-tasking." I wholeheartedly agree.

As drivers we make dozens of decisions based on the information our brains soak in each and every second on the road. Life and death truly does hang in the balance. Just ask the family members of the 90+ loved ones who die on American roadways each day. 

Perhaps the most critical questions we can each ask of ourselves are, "Who do you love?" and "Who loves you?" The answers to these questions should be all the reasons we ever need to make mono-tasking behind the wheel one of the most important New Year's resolutions we will ever make.

So, let's mono-task our way behind the wheel by:


...walking around the vehicle to make sure no children are hiding in blind spots

...turning off all cellular devices - including hands-free - and set aside until I reach my destination

...buckling up and make sure all passengers are buckled up as well

...observe all posted speed limits, and adjust downward due to presence of children at play, cyclists, road and weather conditions

...create space between my vehicle and others around me, so I have time to react to the driving behaviors of others

...use my blinker to signal all turns and lane changes

...stop - take three to see at all stop signs regardless of whether or not anyone is present - it is my chance to practice making complete stops so I am ready the one time that someone does seem to appear out of nowhere

...observe all traffic signals and traffic signs

...think of the ones I love, the ones who are waiting for me to return home safely.

...eat before you drive, or stop and take a break to do so

Again, ask the questions, "Who do I love" and "who loves me?" May the faces of all the loved ones you picture in your mind lead you to "mono-task" your way down every roadway you travel by making driving your top, and only, priority behind the wheel. In doing so, you will do your part to keep kids (of all ages) alive and to make safe driving behaviors a lifetime habit. 

Donate to support our mission at KKAD25 Donate

Your generous giving keeps kids living.