Share The Road

July 3, 2009, tragedy struck my (Alyssa) family and the Gower, Missouri, community. As Tyler Dale Wilson, my only full sibling, was headed to get his first paycheck on his motorcycle everything took a turn for the worse. Tyler was going around a sharp curve as a truck was going around the same curve. The truck was on the wrong side of the road. As family and friends gathered at the hospital, the doctor announced Tyler wouldn’t be going home with us. He didn’t survive the wreck.

Where It Starts!

One day our FCCLA Advisor came up to us and asked if we would be interested in doing a project about youth driving safety. She knew what Alyssa had been through, and she knew it would mean something to Haylea, one of Alyssa’s closest friends. She showed us the main part of what would need to be done. We said we would do it and started brainstorming ideas.

How we found out about YOUTH-Turn!

The issues we addressed using YOUTH-Turn were: distracted driving, staying on your side of the road, and wearing your seat belt.

We already have plans to address motorcycle awareness and distracted driving in the summer of 2012.

Traffic Safety Adversity Addressed

In our project we used a “Seat Belt Check” as our Peer to Peer Education. Prior to this, we handed out the YOUTH-Turn survey asking our peers at East Buchanan High School (EBHS) if they knew what distracted driving was and what kinds of distractions affected their driving.

The survey showed most of the students in our community buckle their seat belt after they begin driving, use their cell phone, text, and change the radio station while driving.

Peer to Peer Education

In our project we used many of the resources YOUTH-Turn offered.

We began with the survey to evaluate the concerns within our population.

We used the bracelets, key chains, and pens in our seatbelt check with the high school students.

We also used the tattoos and pins for the teaching of children grades kindergarten through second grade at East Buchanan Elementary School (EBES).

YOUTH-turn helped us teach others the dangers of distracted driving and wearing our seat belts.

YOUTH-Turn Resources Used

We chose to collaborate with our local elementary teachers to educate young students about the importance of wearing seat belts and the dangers of not wearing a seat belt. We made seat belt covers for our kindergarten through second grade students. We wanted them to be involved and have something to take home as a reminder to always wear their seat belts. They were awarded the seat belt covers if they correctly answered questions about the presentation.

Collaboration and Outreach Efforts

We used the following resources: YOUTH-Turn materials and information, Animoto website, EBHS and EBES students and faculty.

We created the following resources: Animoto Video Presentation, and Seat belt Animals.

Resources Used/Created

http://animoto.com/play/s0syisZilRo161caZBUr3A

As a way to get the word about motorcycle safety awareness out we plan to host a Tyler Dale Wilson memorial trap shoot.

We will also be putting the pictures from our project in the local “Rural Reporter”.

Media Efforts & Promotion of Youth Traffic Safety

As we finish this project, we hope the students at EBHS understand the importance of wearing their seat belts and paying attention to the road. We also hope the EBES students learned about seat belt safety from our presentation and will share it with their parents.

Even though April 30th is the deadline for the project, we feel it is important to continue to encourage students to wear their seat belts and avoid distracted driving.

The Conclusion.