THE LATEST!

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® High School Project 

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! BE THE DIFFERENCE!

Focus: Develop a student-lead project to create a safe driving expectation/environment among the whole student body. The project seeks to affect not only student driving, passenger, pedestrian behaviors, but also these same behaviors among all residents in the community.   

Planning: Involves a representative group of student leaders, administration, faculty, local law enforcement, area residents, and businesses.  A specific plan for your school can be developed through a student organization such as S.A.D.D, FBLA, DECA, Student Council, etc. with faculty support. Tom Everson, Executive Director of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® is available to assist in facilitating this process and to provide ongoing consultation. Safe driving initiatives that can be integrated into planning include:

•  Keep Kids Alive Drive 25^®

• Be Aware! Drive With Care^®

• Check Your Speed^®/No Need To Speed^®

• Stop! Take 3 To See^®

• Seat Belts-FASTENATING!^®

• It’s Not A Race! Create Space©

• Flashing Your Brights™ (Tools for assisting young people in addressing risky behaviors behind the wheel, as a passenger, pedestrian or cyclist)

• Ford Motor Company Fund’s Driving Skills for Life

Goal: To root and sustain safe driving, passenger, pedestrian behaviors within the culture of the school so that the campaign engages each new class of students. In short, the “safe driving” torch is passed from class to class.

Additional goals can be developed by students/advisors to develop measurable outcomes to gauge success over time to impact your entire community.

 Expenses/Funding:

• Initial consultation with Keep Kids Alive Drive 25® (Call 402-334-1391 or e-mail Tom@kkad25.org for details)
• Local sponsors can be engaged to underwrite costs associated with implementing plan developed by student group. These could include “Message Boards” such as key chains, billboards, audio and visual Public Service Messages, etc. Message delivery channels would be determined by student leadership with support of administrative advisors.
• Grants can be explored through State Dept. of Transportation, local law enforcement, area foundations, business and civic organizations.

Questions? Contact Tom Everson at 402-334-1391 or Tom@kkad25.org.

Driving Safely When School Is In Session (Tips courtesy of Marcotte Insurance, Omaha, Nebraksa)

Students aren't the only ones who have to make adjustments when school reopens in the fall. Drivers need to make some major changes, as well. When school is in session, the driving environment presents a variety of serious hazards;

Ø      Children behaving unpredictably,

Ø      Changes in speed limits,

Ø      New areas of traffic congestion; which probably were not present over the summer.

When the kids go back to school, drivers must go back to stricter driving rules. Whether you drive a tractor-trailer, a delivery van, a ready-mix truck, or a passenger car, you'll need to take special precautions as you travel in and around school zones.

School Zones

Warning signs are usually posted several hundred feet before you enter a school zone. These signs are there to alert you to the upcoming hazard, and to indicate a change in the posted speed limit. Reduce your speed as soon as you see the warning, and use extreme caution as you pass through the school zone. Be aware of the school zones that you travel through regularly, and change your driving habits as needed. Consider alternate routes if school zones create unacceptable delays in your travel time.

School Crossings

As you near a school zone, watch for warning signs indicating a school crossing, where children will be walking across the roadway. The pavement may or may not be marked with crosswalks, and there may or may not be a crossing guard to help control traffic in the area. Check the areas on both sides of the crossing zone to make sure no children are approaching, keep your speed low, and use extreme caution as you pass through the area.

School Bus Stops

School bus stop areas may be located anywhere on your route, and they typically are not marked with warning signs. Be on the lookout for children gathering along the sides of the roadways in anticipation of arriving school buses. If you see them, slow down and proceed with caution.

Following School Buses

It's a fact of life ; school buses make frequent stops. If you're behind a school bus, maintain a safe following distance. Never pass a stopped school bus. At each stop, children will be getting on or off the bus. They may need to cross in front of the bus, or they may dart out into the roadway unexpectedly. Be aware that school buses are also required to come to a complete stop before crossing railroad tracks. Following a school bus can be slow and frustrating, and there may not always be a safe, designated passing zone. If you travel along a school bus route regularly, allow extra time or consider using alternate routes during the school year.

Traffic Congestion

School zones may present traffic congestion in the early morning and mid-afternoon. Be prepared for delays as you travel in or around these areas.

No one wants to be involved in an accident, especially an accident involving a school bus or a young pedestrian. As autumn approaches and the school children, school buses, and school zones become active again, it's time to adapt your driving habits to reduce the hazards they present. Expect the unexpected; with children's safety at stake, this is one lesson you definitely won't want to learn the hard way

MORE KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25®

Back-to-School Safety Campaign Ideas

Bike Montclair (New Jersey) in cooperation with local schools sponsored a KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® Poster Contest. E-mail Tom@kkad25.org for information about how your School District can conduct a Poster Contest.

And the Winners in Montclair Are:

Hannah Rose in Grades 6-8

Tori Schoen in Grades K-2

Here are more ideas for schools to promote the

KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® message

·         Local businesses can sponsor KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® Community Start-up Kits to distribute through School PTA/PTO groups to help initiate the campaign. View the Start-up Kit at:

      http://www.keepkidsalivedrive25.org/products/kits/kka7000/Startup_Kit.pdf

·         Present a KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® key chain to new drivers upon receiving their drivers license. Offer these same key chains to participants in defensive driving courses.

·         Student Council getting involved in introducing KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® to the community as well as to peers within the high school.

·         Future Business Leaders of America groups in high schools setting up a business to sell KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® products to community sponsors (civic groups, businesses, neighborhood associations, etc.) in order to introduce the campaign to the community.

·         A high school in St. Louis, MO gave each student a KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® static cling window decal along with their parking permit.

·         Traffic Safety Public Service Announcements are available through KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® for use in School and Community newsletters. Please contact us at (402) 334-1391 or at Tom@kkad25.org for more information.

·         Escondido, CA posted a KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® street sign at the exit driveway of all elementary schools as a reminder to drivers as they head into neighborhoods. Several schools in Nebraska and Iowa have added to this idea by posting SEAT BELTS – FASTENATING!® signs to their parking lot exits. Businesses can do this too. Check out more about SEAT BELTS – FASTENATING!® at:

       http://www.keepkidsalivedrive25.org/seatbelts/

·         The PTA at Fullerton Elementary School in Omaha does a Spring Festival fund-raiser to benefit the safety patrol.

·         Harrison Elementary PTA along with 2 other area schools in Omaha distribute KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® trash can decals  to school families to get the message curbside. 2 PTOs at schools in Shrewsbury New Jersey have sent home a decal for each family to affix to their trash can.

·         Bike Montclair and the Wayne School District in New Jersey each sponsored a KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® Poster Contest for students.

·         In Omaha, the Safety and Health Council adopted KKAD25® as their back-to-school safety campaign. The campaign kicked off with a rally at a local elementary school  where 100 children paraded around the parking lot with KKAD25® yard signs (minus the sign stakes - we wanted to promote safety, not have anyone lose eyesight!).  Local media covered the event.

·        In Arapahoe, NE and Florence, AL, KKAD25® street signs were erected in neighborhoods surrounding school zones to alert motorists to be more cautious before actually entering these zones. The campaign in Florence expanded when neighborhood association also began erecting KKAD25® street signs (paid for by  residents). A neighborhood in Wichita, KS has also implemented this approach. Arapahoe expanded their efforts by erecting additional KKAD25® street signs the next year.

·         Stage a Kick-off rally with the yard signs at a local school or schools. Then distribute signs to neighbors living along routes to school to mark the safe routes to school (neighbors would volunteer to erect signs in their yards)

·         Reinforce the message by erecting street signs in neighborhoods which surround school zones (solicit cooperation of neighborhood associations and local businesses to help cover the cost of signs - in Adams, NE, 13 local businesses chipped in to cover cost of street signs. This could be complemented by grant funds, if available - in Lincoln, NE, neighborhoods applied for Neighborhood Watch grants to initiate a KKAD25® campaign.)

·        Neighborhood organizations can make KKAD25® yard signs available for students who attend the neighborhood elementary school. The idea is to rotate the signs from child to child based on some sort of achievement. This will hopefully get awareness out to many parents and also allow the signs to pop up in different parts of the neighborhood so they don't become static and unobserved. It will also provide a sense of ownership and pride to the child who gets to "adopt" the sign for the week.

·        Use KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® as an educational fundraiser with community impact. KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® products can be sold to get the message out to the community, while at the same time raising funds for school needs.

·         Place the KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® on mouse pads, rulers, etc. to keep the message in front of children and teenagers as they grow. One PTA has given every student a KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® pencil simply to plant a seed of awareness. The City of Walkersville, MD is passing out static window stickers to parents of all elementary school children.

·         City Council can work with local PTAs to seed the campaign in neighborhoods adjacent to schools.

·         Add KEEP KIDS ALIVE DRIVE 25® street signs or decals to digital display radar trailers in and around school zones. (Some communities are already doing this.)

 For more information, please contact: Tom Everson, Keep Kids Alive Drive 25®,  402-334-1391 or Tom@kkad25.org

Keep Kids Alive Drive 25^® and related logos and slogans (Check Your Speed^®/No Need To Speed^®, Be Aware! Drive With Care™, Stop! Take 3 To See^®, Stop Means Stop^®, and Seat Belts-FASTENATING!^®) are registered trademarks of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25, P.O. Box 45563 Omaha, Nebraska, 68145. No other entities may use these or similar marks without prior permission. Call 402-334-1391 for information.