Help Protect Our Youth

Michelle's Leading Star Foundation

Helping Make Teen Driving Safer

In our daily lives as adults, attention to safe driving is usually a given. We know that we should watch our speed, be careful around sharp curves, wear our seat belts at all times, not drink and drive and obey the traffic laws. But do we ever think about all of the other responsibilities that go along with safe driving? And more importantly, do we really try to make safe driving lessons common place in our school systems? Do we have the appropriate laws in place to protect our youth? Do we talk about it? Do we set a good example? Do we take an active role? And most of all, do we reinforce defensive driving with our young drivers on a daily basis? We may believe that the answer to these questions is yes.

Yet, statistically auto accidents are the leading cause of death among teens. Many teens are ill-equipped to handle the responsibility. Many are immature and irresponsible and many have no business being behind the wheel of a car…

Audience demographics/Supporting Facts/Baseline information:

Teenage driving fatalities is the leading cause of death among teens:
–Teenagers have the highest crash risk of any age group—about four times higher than older drivers.
Between 1995 and 2004, automobile crashes involving 15-17 year old drivers claimed the lives of 30,917 people nationwide. While over 6,000 deaths of our teenagers alone per year, with another 400,000 admitted to a hospital for some type of injury.
Nearly two of every three people killed in teen-driver crashes are people other than the teen driver
In our home state of Ohio, an analysis shows that 1,173 lives were lost in crashes involving young drivers’ from 1995-2004 … While it continues to climb.
Ohio ranks 5th highest in teen driving fatalities.

We all have children of our own, or nieces, nephews or grandchildren. This kind of tragedy just breaks your heart. No one should ever have to feel this pain or go through a tragedy like this in their lifetime. “It is a nightmare that we long to wake from”. It’s difficult to express in words all of the emotions and hurt that we are experiencing today, but at the same time we know in our hearts that we need to channel our emotions into something positive, so that we may somehow limit/prevent this from happening to others.

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So, we are asking for your support for a cause that our family and many other families believe in: “Safe driving among teens”. This tragedy has touched and brought our local community together, but we need to get the word out on a state and national level.