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14 / THE SAFETY REPORT / SUMMER 2010 THESAFETYREPORT.

COM / 15

making by Shelley McKown


cacy is everyone can join the party and it’s free! How do you
start? Find a safety initiative important to you and OWN it. Use
scientific facts to substantiate your claims and throw in personal
reasons too. For ideas on how you can make a difference in
safety advocacy, here are great websites to check out: www.nsc.
org, www.asse.org and www.iihs.org.
and why they are so important. Driving safely is so simple: wear
your seat belt, don’t drink alcohol or do drugs, don’t speed and
don’t even TOUCH or LOOK at that cell phone. To all teenage
parents, the best way to change their behavior is consequence.
Don’t be afraid to take the keys and phone away. Kids are en-
couraged to make parents accountable as well. The old saying
My personal safety initiative is promoting safe teen driving. If of ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ is just that…OLD. If you expect your
I’m not lecturing my fifteen year-old son about homework, then teenager to comply, then set a good example with your own
I’m rambling about new teen driver statistics. Apparently, I do this driving behaviors.
Many people live an from a local, grass often since my ten year-old reminds me he has a few years before Hopefully, you will figure out your own recipe to make safety
entire lifetime without roots idea to an he’ll be driving. ‘Better early than late’ is my reply, as he rolls his COOL in your life. My recipe is to figure out your gifts, be a part
ever knowing their gifts. international eyes. For the most updated news on highway safety related laws, of something bigger than yourself so you can share them, find
There are many ways to effort with an including the most current cell phone, texting or graduated driver the science you need to support your advocacy, and tell all the
define ‘gifts,’ but here impact so tre- licensing laws for your state, visit www.ghsa.org. people you care about. Oh, and along the way, always be the
are a few possible mendous that A few years ago, I spent time with families, who had lost their person your dog thinks you are.
definitions: a spe- you can pur- teenagers in automobile accidents. It is difficult to explain the un-
cialty profes- chase cinnamon believable feeling of sadness you experience when you look into — Shelley McKown oversees the EHS compliance division for ICertainty
sion requiring rolls in your INC and is a teen-driver safety advocate who promotes her cause at
the mother’s or father’s eyes as they tell you about who their son twitter.com/coolsafetychic.
a high level local grocery or daughter was, and who their son or daughter would have been
of knowl- store with now if still alive. These parents did all the right things, but at the
edge or their most critical moment, their teenage drivers made bad decisions
skill; a signa- behind the wheel, including the absence of their seat belts. Here ÑFrom your computer, ÑFrom your smart-
character ture enter the article ID in phone, scan the tag
are statistics you may or may not be aware of.
the search box at using TagReader. For
or physical pink
thesafetyreport.com. more information visit
trait; the abil- color According to the National Highway Traffic Article ID: 1437 gettag.mobi.
ity to run a busy and Safety Administration
home full of healthy cause ÑMotor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for
children who do well printed all American teenagers.
in school; a physical or over the packag- ÑSeat belt use is the most effective protection against serious
mental ability; a high IQ; ing. How do all of crash injuries, reducing your risk by fifty percent.
or maybe the ability to these worldwide cam- ÑNearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a dis-
lead, motivate and inspire paigns make such an tracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were
others. If you boil it down impact? My theory is injured.
to simple logic, every human their leaders are very On the economic side, traffic crashes cost the nation over
being is unique in genetic aware of their gifts, $230 billion each year in medical expenses, lost productivity,
structure, so everyone has an many whom consider property damage, and related costs. Imagine the impact of
equal chance to develop their life a gift, and they make reallocating just $1 billion to your state! Who knows, maybe you
gifts. Do you know what your their campaigns COOL. wouldn’t be holding an IOU for your state income tax return.
gifts are? I’ve been very lucky in my life My first week on the job at the Na- On the personal side, it continually amazes me that most
to know and work with many people who This is my long version of You Can tional Safety Council, I was involved in parents won’t enroll their children in additional defensive driver
are aware of their gifts, and I celebrate Make a Difference. a lofty discussion around safety advo- training above what their state requires (i.e., graduated driver
when they share them with others for a Human nature studies tell us that most cacy. Three thoughts from that meeting licensing or GDL laws); that there are people who still don’t wear
good cause. One of them is Dean Ka- of us strive to be a part of something resonated with me; (1) everyone has their seat belts every time they climb into a vehicle (although seat
men, an inventor who has significantly bigger than just ourselves. Based on the someone important in their life and if you belt usage is much higher than it was ten years ago, over 80%
changed our world for the better. Dean results of worldwide campaigns for breast could prevent them from injury or illness, now); and finally, that people continue to talk and text on their
founded a not-for-profit called FIRST (For cancer awareness, drug-free schools, chances are you would, (2) safety is a cell phones while driving (distracted driving). Ignorance is no lon-
Inspiration and Recognition of Science disaster relief efforts, and even television universal language that touches every- ger an excuse! Millions of dollars have been spent on campaigns
and Technology), which inspires young shows where millions of people call or one and everything in our world, and (3) for these initiatives, yet we still see these horrible statistics.
people’s interest and participation in sci- text to determine the fate of the contes- safety professionals are some of the most According to the National Safety Council, the biggest single
ence and technology. According to Dean, tants, I’d say those studies are right on. I intelligent and hard working people I’ve thing that will reduce teen fatalities on our roads is stronger
‘if you are not going to change the world, have worked with a foundation for over ever known. GDL laws and parents’ enforcement of them. Parents can signifi-
go back to sleep.’ fifteen years and watched them grow The coolest part about safety advo- cantly decrease risk by talking to their kids about GDL principles

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