To ensure scenes like this don't end in a crash, the new Youth Reckless Driving Campaign, launched Thursday, is taking a different approach by targeting the car's passengers rather than its driver.
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Most young people can identify with this scene: You're in a car full of friends. The driver has only had a license for a couple of months, a year at most. The music is blaring and the passengers are talking and laughing loudly. Not wanting to look like a wimp, the driver rolls through stop signs and speeds around turns while chatting on a cell phone.
To ensure scenes like this don't end in a crash, the new Youth Reckless Driving Campaign, launched Thursday, is taking a different approach by targeting the car's passengers rather than its driver.
The campaign, called "UR the Spokesperson," urges teenagers and young adults to be their own advocates against irresponsible driving and to tell their friends when they don't feel safe in the car.
"Eighty percent of 15- to 21-year-olds said they would listen to a friend if they were asked to slow down or pay attention (while driving)," said Sue Jacobsen, vice president of corporate communications for The Advertising Council, the national nonprofit organization that created the campaign.
"It's a terrific campaign that's looking to influence the passenger, the intervener, the friends and the peers who will speak up," Jacobsen said.
According to the 2004 Wisconsin Traffic Crash Facts from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, 16.7 percent of 16-year-old drivers in Wisconsin were involved in crashes that year. The percentage dropped with each year of age, with 8.8 percent of 21-year-old drivers involved in crashes.
Dennis Hughes, chief of policy analysis and local programs for the Wisconsin State Patrol, said he thinks the restrictions on young drivers in this state are tough.
In 2000, Wisconsin enacted the Graduated Driver's License Program. The program has stages of licensing and each stage has fewer restrictions on the driver, according to Hughes. The restrictions include where, with whom and during what time of day new motorists can drive.
"The first three years of the graduated license program showed a decline in 16-year-olds involved in crashes," Hughes said. He also said most states now have graduated license programs.
Still, the Ad Council found a niche for a campaign that targets the young passengers of young drivers.
"There is a real need for this campaign," Jacobsen said. "Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of our youth today."
A press release from "UR the Spokesperson" said the number of teen deaths due to car crashes is "more than triple the number of teen suicides and more than double the number of teen homicide victims."
The campaign, which features TV spots and online ads, is supported and promoted by Students Against Destructive Decisions and the American Automobile Association. State attorney generals, including Wisconsin's J.B. Van Hollen, are also coming along for the ride.
The funding for the advertisements' production and distribution came from the settlement money of a Ford SUV lawsuit. The strategy and development of the ads was done for free by North Castle Partners Advertising, based in Stamford, Conn.
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