The Daily Drive: Educating Parents and Teen Drivers

Purnima Unni and Dr. Irving Zamora with Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt worked tirelessly this school year on the 'Be in the Zone - Turn Off Your Phone' (BITZ) teen safe driving initiative. They conducted BITZ virtually this year and what we really want to know is, how did they do it? How did they adapt to make this initiative successful during COVID? Tune in to this week's episode to find out!

Ever wonder what to do if you're driving and you have a tire blowout while driving? Are you ready to control the car if that happens, and do you know what to do next?  This segment of 'What Should I Do?' on The Daily Drive aims to answer those very questions!

Ever wonder what to do if you're driving and you have a tire blowout? Are you ready to control the car if that happens? Do you know what to do next? Teen driver Josh will get some answers for you in this segment of 'What Should I Do?' on The Daily Drive. 

Join us this week when we talk to Nicole Runyon. She is an expert in her field when it comes to discussing the connection between adolescent mental health, our tech heavy culture and smart devices. Nicole has some great advice about what she feels parents can do to reduce their teen's addictive behavior around their phones, especially while they are driving.

Flashing Your Brights! is a program developed in part by our friend Tom Everson, the founder of Keep Kids Alive Drive 25. Like flashing your brights in order to get the attention of an oncoming driver who does not have their lights on, it’s all about doing what is in your power to keep yourself and others safe on and along roadways.

Since the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day has become known as the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers, we have asked Tom to be on the show today to talk about this program. He'll help parents find their voice before the upcoming summer driving season when their teens are out driving more and driving later at night. 

Tom and every parent knows that it can take a lot of focus and energy to begin to address concerns and it can be difficult finding the right words. 

So, parents. You're in for a treat today. Hopefully you will learn a lot from Tom in this podcast. 

This week's podcast is really fun! This is a new series on The Daily Drive called "What Should I Do?" and starring Josh Speck, who is in the process of learning how to drive!  This week, Josh will be be asking our expert in the field some questions about distracted driving.  Look our for Josh in some later episodes of "What Should I Do?" as well!  

Want to know what some states are doing to help curb distracted driving? Join us for this week's episode of The Daily Drive with Mark Ezzell Director of North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program and Sam Cole Traffic Safety Communications Manager with the Colorado DOT. 

Today we are talking to Jim Brainard, Mayor of Carmel, Indiana. He's the first seven-term mayor. Under his tenure, Carmel has experienced tremendous growth and prosperity. It is considered one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The population has grown from 25,000 to almost 100,000 in the last 25 years.

Mayor Brainard has implemented numerous environmental and traffic safety initiatives for the City of Carmel. He has encouraged the construction of roundabouts in place of traditional signaled intersections, which have reduced vehicle emissions and accidents with injuries. He is here today to talk to us about the benefits of roundabouts, where his passion for these corner-less intersections comes from, and why Carmel bills itself as the roundabout capital of the U.S.

Car crashes are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries for teens. 

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. This month provides a platform for educating the general public about prevention, incidence of brain injury and the needs of people with brain injuries and their families. We have the second of our 2-part series on the subject with Wendy Berk and Sue Quick from the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey. They talk to host Mike Speck about the scope of vehicle crash-related teen brain injuries and the effects those injuries have on the victims and their families as well as what the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey is doing on behalf of teen driver safety. 

Join us for a conversation with Avonne Bell, Director Connected Life at CTIA, about the messaging and technology that the wireless industry provides to help teens and parents make better decisions when it comes to driving and cell phone use. 

Join us for a conversation with the authors of a new report that highlights the significant role that speeding plays in teen driver fatalities. Parents – there are simple things you can do to save lives and keep your teen safe.

“Our country has a speeding problem that has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “Thousands of people die needlessly on our roads because some drivers mistakenly think less traffic means they can speed and nothing bad will happen. The data tell us that teen drivers are the most likely to be tempted to speed, so the need to address this issue is more critical than ever given traffic death trends during the pandemic.”

Canadian Ford Driving Skills for Life team members give us some great winter driving tips. We talk about everything from checking and prepping your vehicle to negotiating slides and what to do if you get stranded.

The time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is described as one of the deadliest and most dangerous times on America’s roadways due to an increase in impaired driving.

It's important to remember that impaired driving crashes are preventable.

Join us for a discussion with industry leaders addressing the growing impaired driving threats and trends on our roadways.

Speakers

- Kristin Smith, Head of Global Road Safety Policy at Uber 

- Officer Mike Blute, Georgia Drug Recognition Expert State Coordinator with Georgia GOHS

- Darrin Grondel, Vice President, Government Relations and Traffic Safety at Responsibility.org  

Moderator

- Mike Speck, Ford Driving Skills for Life lead driving instructor

Can you get a DUI from using over the counter medication? Can an underage DUI create an arrest record that can follow you for the rest of your life?

Our guest today is Pam Wahal, Prevention Coordinator for the Alcohol Highway Safety program with Allegheny County Pretrial Services in Pittsburg, She talks to us about our life choices and how what we do today will affect us tomorrow. 

If you pedal on the roads you know that being out there means sharing the road with drivers and pedestrians. Today's guest is Alison Dewy, Director of Education for the American League of Bicyclists.  She'll tell us about rules of the road and how cyclists, drivers and pedestrians can learn to understand each other's mindset.  

The  American League of Bicyclists represents bicyclists in the movement to create safer roads, stronger communities, and a Bicycle Friendly America. 

We've all been there; driving when a first responder vehicle on its way to a scene has had to get past us.  For new drivers, this can be an unsettling experience, and believe it or not, not everyone knows what to do. Captain Keith Rogers from the Phoenix Fire Department talks to us about what you should, and shouldn't do around fire trucks rushing to a call!

Paulina Jayne is back in the house! She chats with us about getting back on the road, her first live concert since March and Nationl Teen Driver Safety Week. 

October is Pedestrian Safety Month and this week on The Daily Drive we talked to the busiest woman in Florida! Road safety advocate Melissa Wandall is involved in Walk to School Day, School Bus Safety Week, White Cane Awareness Day and even a ride along with the Sarasota Police Department to promote visibility. She has a TON to tell us! 

Join us for a conversation Michelle Johnson. Her son Connor was killed in 2011 in a vehicle crash in which he was a passenger. Through education, Michelle is now on a mission to shift our driving culture to a culture that is distraction-free. Hear her story. 

Whatever the behavior or environment, there are about 1.25 million fatalities from traffic crashes around the world each year, and many are preventable. Join us for a conversation with Coordinator of International and Special programs for the Ford Motor Company Fund Kyle Green to learn more about addressing challenging and changing global traffic safety needs.