Category Archive: Driving Skills
Project Ignition Brings out the Best in Teen Driving Safety
June 3, 2011
Since 1983, the National Youth Leadership Council has strived to “create a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world with young people, their schools and their communities through service-learning.” They have been coordinating a lot of initiatives, research/leadership programs and professional development programs for over two decades now.
The one we will be focusing on is Project Ignition, which brings out the best in students, teachers and the community when it comes to creative service-learning programs designed to promote teen driver safety.
What is service-learning?
In their words, service-learning is “learning in action.” Creating a driving safety video about seat belt safety is a service. Sitting in front of a computer, watching that seat belt safety video is learning.
Service-learning is a method of teaching that puts the ball in the hands of the students, teachers and the community. With the freedom to create something based on things that they know their peers will learn from, regardless of the method of delivery, but also inclusive of things one might learn from a classroom creates a service-learning program that will be easier to comprehend. It is learning in action.
So what is Project Ignition, and how does it fit into all this?
Project Ignition is a service-learning grant program focused on providing high schools with great teen driver safety-focused service-learning ideas and giving them the spark necessary to get these ideas happen.
These ideas may engage students, teachers and the community to evaluate how they fit into the whole teen driver safety issue, and what can and must be done for them not only to be the cause of safety, but also influence attitudes and spread the overall message that not only do their peers care, but also the community. The impact of these ideas may change city policies; it may give students a platform for a dialogue with lawmakers they otherwise wouldn’t have got to; it may bring out stories from families of teen driving crashes; at the very least, these ideas might change minds.
The ripple effect achieved by these ideas is like throwing a boulder into a small pond.
What Project Ignition does to get these service-learning ideas started is provide a $2,000 grant for 25 selected schools which may enable the idea to become reality. But it doesn’t stop there: the 10 best out of the 25 schools selected stand a chance of becoming one of the Project Ignition National Leader Schools. Leader schools will be given the chance to expand their original campaign for a second year with a funding of $2,500, along with $5,000 to support their participation in the National Service-Learning Conference in 2012.
How do I get our school’s teen driver safety service-learning idea funded?
Project Ignition’s contact details are on the site. Application for becoming one of the 25 selected schools (in the US or Canada) is open in August, but interested parties may contact them as early as now. http://www.sfprojectignition.com/
Image: statefarm.com
Ford Driving Clinics Coming to Schools
March 22, 2011
Ford’s Driving Skills for Life, a group focused on teen driving safety will be going around schools to set up driving clinics for teens. Ford DSFL is focused on correcting the most common teen driving mistakes which are; speeding, spacing, vehicle handling, and distractions.
They teach these in their Ford driving clinics through 3 different exercises for teens. The goal is for the teens to experience first-hand how the lack of training or knowledge may lead to disaster down the line. The three exercises are:
- Vehicle handling – In this one, the rear wheels of the car are intentionally loose, causing the vehicle to skid when approaching turns. The goal of this exercise is to teach teens what to do in situations like that.
- Distracted Driving Course – The goal of this is to show that the inside of a vehicle is full of distractions — and ways on how to deal with them while staying focused on driving.
- Impaired Driving Course – Students will be wearing “fatal vision” goggles that impair vision, to show that drivers are not truly able to operate a vehicle under the influence.
The Ford DSFL tour is a 30-city, 15-state driving clinic to be held in high schools. For a full listing of schedules, check out their Ford DSFL Site.
Photo Courtesy of: Ford Driving Skills for Life
State Farm Insurance Teen Driver Programs
March 2, 2011
State Farm has created an Auto Learning Center, which is their driving safety blog. They have several features specifically aimed for teen drivers and parents of teen drivers that reinforce the idea that safe driving begins from home, and that they are more than just an insurance company.
Here are several of their discounts that teen drivers can take advantage of:
Good Student Discount (Up to 25%) – For students who are under the age of 24, high grades are directly proportional to lower insurance rates. This may apply for students under the age of 25 who are taking a four-year course in a college/university.
Defensive Driving Course Discount (Up to 10%) – This is for teens who take a defensive driving course voluntarily. State Farm believes that granting a discount for drivers who are conscious about the way they drive should be rewarded by discounts.
Steer Clear Safe Driver Discount (Up to 15%) – Steer Clear is State Farm’s own version of a driver refresher course. They reward drivers who take up the initiative to apply for their course by a discount of up to 15%.
There are currently three ways to avail of this discount: via an insurance agent, online or via the mobile app. The insurance agent will be able to give teen drivers a Steer Clear kit which includes program materials. The online option allows teen drivers to be able to take up the Steer Clear refresher course in the comfort of their own home. The mobile option is by far the simplest way: simply installing their app (which is available for i-devices or Android devices), they may be able to avail of the Steer Clear Discount.
Learn How to Drive on your Spring Break
February 25, 2011
Mention the word “Spring Break” and images of vacations and getaways come to mind. The reality is: not everyone gets to go on spring break. While this may dishearten some teens, the good news is: it’s a great time to learn how to drive!
Don’t exactly know where to start? Here are some suggestions on getting started on some spring break learning:
- Consider a visit to the DMV office. Different states have different requirements, so knowing these is a good start. Also, dropping by the DMV will allow you to get materials such as driver’s manuals to help aide your study. This can also be done online, with most states having their own official DMV site.
- Practice for your DMV written test online with a drivers license practice test. When completing the online course you’re guaranteed to pass your written test.
- If you’re already have your learners permit, get practice. Most states require a minimum of 50 hours, so running errands at home can sometimes be a way for new drivers to get experience driving, or completing required hours for driving. It’s the perfect time to familiarize one’s self with the vehicle, and properly operating it.
- Learn basic vehicle troubleshooting. Learn how to check the oil. Learn how to change a tire. Basically, learn the basics of being prepared for anything.
- Have fun. Imagine the surprise your friends will get when they find out you got started on learning how to drive. Driving is a lifelong skill that is both a convenience and a privilege, and there’s no better time to begin learning than when you have a break from your other responsibilities.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Vehicle Exhaust – A Vehicle’s Silent Killer
February 9, 2011
A group of young people decide to have a festive “get-together” at a friend’s house. They have been anxiously waiting for the “getty” the entire week. One of the friends is running a bit late to the reunion. His friends have texted him a few times in order to hurry him up so, he can get to the gathering as soon as possible. He finally arrives and parks the car in the garage. However, he mistakenly leaves the car running due to his hurried state. Some time later, a silent killer enters the room; not in the form of a human being and invisible to all. It is odorless, colorless, and lethal. It is called Carbon Monoxide. This toxic gas impairs oxygen delivery and disrupts “oxygen utilization and respiration on a cellular level, especially in high-oxygen demand organs” such as the brain and the heart. Therefore, breathing in high levels of carbon monoxide can cause loss of consciousness and death. Due to this fatal consequence of the carbon monoxide poisoning from the vehicle exhaust, all of the young people at the “get-together” tragically succumb to a heartbreaking death.
The aforementioned tragedy is based on real-life fatalities that occur way too often in our society due to the toxic dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from vehicle exhaust. Even though not every carbon monoxide poisoning occurrence leads to death, it can still cause long-running symptoms as headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and an altered mental status. Carbon monoxide can quickly build up to unsafe levels in enclosed or semi-enclosed areas, and that is a key factor why deaths can happen so sudden.
Approximately three-quarters of carbon monoxide emissions in the United States come from motor vehicles (around 56%). Each year, approximately 25 percent of all non-crash fatalities occur from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning usually involving people inside passenger vehicles that were running inside enclosed spaces, but as previously noted the toxic gas can also spread externally to nearby enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces.
The following are some methods to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning from motor vehicles:
- Always make sure NOT to leave the vehicle engine running when parked in or nearby an enclosed or a semi-enclosed space.
- Never run a vehicle in the garage, even when the garage door is open.
- Have a mechanic check the exhaust system of your motor vehicle every year. A small leak in your car’s exhaust system can lead to a build up of carbon monoxide inside the car.
- Don’t allow people to travel inside truck canopies and campers. Vehicle exhaust can be drawn into the covered or enclosed area of canopies and campers.
- Install a carbon monoxide detector in a motor home or any recreational vehicle.
Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, but nevertheless it is quite imperative for us to not be silent and share with others education on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from vehicle exhaust and on how to prevent it from happening.
Learn more vehicle safety tips at www.NationalSafetyCommission.com