Elementary School Education Program
Presenting our distracted driving prevention message to elementary schools requires a completely unique approach. Our young audience does not typically have the opportunity to comment on driving; this education program and our annual poster contest gives them a voice on this important road safety issue. We believe that young children, with their ability to speak the truth without social pressures, can bring awareness to their families and communities about the risks taken when driving distracted.
Drop It And Drive does not charge a fee to elementary or high schools. Our top priority is to get this important road safety message out to Canada’s youth. We gratefully accept honorariums or donations that help sustain and grow our school education program.
Still a uniquely dynamic, multi-speaker presentation, we use carefully selected age appropriate messaging through videos and stories to deliver a powerful message to elementary schools with a combination of knowledge, personal experience, energy and humour. We also put an emphasis on pedestrian safety; helping kids to understand the connection between distracted drivers, distracted walking and their personal safety.
D.I.A.D. Founder, Karen Bowman and 27-year veteran fire fighter, retired Captain Tim Baillie work with local enforcement, emergency services and Young Drivers of Canada to deliver presentations with maximum community impact.
“I started the poster campaign off by talking to my class about what did they think distracted driving was and how it affected them and other people. The discussion was fairly superficial. We then watched the YouTube clip that you had as a link on the DIAD website. The students were effected tremendously by the video and the oohs and aahs and oh no’s were echoed throughout the room. After we watched the clip we talked about all the people that were affected by this incident, at first superficial but then they started to really think.
It was amazing how they kept coming back to the young man who had caused the accident, and they could not get over the fact he was a good kid, but had made a bad choice that was going to change his life forever and he had to go to jail. They also were very affected by the children of the truck driver. So affected that they began to become angry as they realized people who were putting their lives in danger every time they got in a car, and in some instances their own parents. They all went home that night and talked to their parents, siblings and aunts and uncles. One student even took it so far as to request his mom give him her phone to hold while she was driving, saying if it need to be answered he would do it. She hesitated but complied.
The students were very excited about the contest, and every single student completed a poster on time, a feat that does not happen very often here. Though the thought of maybe winning was there they were truly motivated by the message and the power that they could have to make a difference. Thank you again.” ~ Roxanne Koebel, Division 5 Grade 5 Teacher, Betty Huff Elementary
Distracted Driving Stats & Facts
- Distracted drivers are a risk to drivers, passengers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists.
- Drivers need to slow down. The higher the speed, the higher the risk of injury, or even death, to a child pedestrian. If you hit a child at 50km/hr, there is an 80% chance that child will die. If you hit a child at 30 km/hr, there is a 95% chance that child will live! -Safe Kids Canada Walk This Way
- One study showed that nearly 80% of crashes involve some form of driver inattention within 3 seconds before the event. -Insurance Bureau of Canada
- Distractions are dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Remind your children to put away their cell phones and take off ear buds before crossing the street. -Safe Kids Canada Walk This Way
- Driver distraction is estimated to be a contributing factor in 8 out of every 10 police-reported crashes. – Insurance Bureau of Canada
- “It’s not a question of what your hands are doing. It’s a question of what your head is doing.” -Western Washington University, Clown on a Unicycle Study
- When people are on cell phones, hands-free or not, they can’t focus fully on driving or even walking, this phenomenom is referred to as Inattentional Blindness, i.e. you can’t see what’s clearly right in front of your eyes.
- Children who talk on cell phones while crossing the street are one-third more likely to be hit or nearly hit by a car. -University of Alabama at Birmingham study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2009
CONTACT US TO FIND OUT MORE OR TO BOOK A SESSION: 778-571-0372
“You could feel the passion and emotion coming from them as they told their stories and I bet that the stories would not have the same impact if they were told by somebody else.” ~ M.G.
