Students Lead National Youth Traffic Safety Month Activities May 2011

April 28, 2011 - PRLog -- Contact:  Patty O’Brien, Communications Mgr.            
E-mail:  pobrien@nationalsave.org               
Phone:  919-661-7800                     
     
Students Lead National Youth Traffic Safety Month Activities May 2011

RALEIGH, N.C. (April 27, 2011) – The National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) and the Allstate Foundation have partnered to increase youth safety and promote Teen Safe Driving during National Youth Traffic Safety Month (May).  This is an important time to focus on teen driving safety with events surrounding the end of the school year including prom and graduation.

Utilizing Allstate Teen Safe Driving materials and SAVE materials, SAVE chapters are educating and empowering teens with Teen Safe Driving skills and youth safety strategies.  With support from Allstate agents and employee volunteers, they are providing leadership in their schools and communities to ensure that all students will be encouraged and empowered with healthy life skills while engaging in educational activities and opportunities to promote teen safe driving and youth safety.

SAVE is a peer-to-peer organization that focuses on the power of positive peer influences.  According to an Allstate Foundation survey, Shifting Teen Attitudes: The State of Teen Driving 2009, peers are a major influence on teens – both positive and negative.  Some of the concerning statistics that SAVE chapters are addressing include:

•   Eighty-two percent of teens reported using cell phones while driving.
•   Nearly half (48 percent) of girls admit they are likely to speed more than 10 mph over the limit, versus 36 percent of boys.
•   Seventy-seven percent of teens admit they have felt unsafe with another teen's driving.

"Thanks to generous grants from the Allstate Foundation, teens across the country are taking the lead and conducting Teen Safe Driving Awareness activities during National Youth Traffic Safety Month.  By partnering with local Allstate Agents they are able to spread their message not only in their schools but throughout the community," stated the National Association of SAVE’s executive director, Carleen Wray.

“By empowering teens to become smart driving activists in their schools and communities, we hope to reverse the staggering statistics,” said Allstate representative Thomas Walters of Walters Insurance Agency, Inc.  “Through The Allstate Foundation, we seek to develop innovative, teen-focused approaches to raise awareness of the issue and, ultimately, to help save lives and reduce injuries.”

Join this nationwide effort to show that our youth and our communities are committed to Teen Safe Driving!  For further information on what you can do to promote Teen Safe Driving, contact the National Association of SAVE at (866) 343-SAVE (7283), or visit www.nationalsave.org.

About the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere:
SAVE started at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C. in 1989 following the tragic death of a student who was trying to break up a fight at an off-campus party.  Students met first to console each other, then as an organization to promote violence prevention and to work together to prevent future incidents from occurring.  SAVE provides education about the effects and consequences of violence and helps provide safe activities for students, parents and communities.  For more information on SAVE or starting a SAVE chapter, visit www.nationalsave.org, or contact SAVE at (866) 343-SAVE to receive free start-up materials and guidance.

About The Allstate Foundation:
Established in 1952, The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation .  Allstate and The Allstate Foundation sponsor community initiatives to promote safe and vital communities; tolerance, inclusion, and diversity; and economic empowerment.  The Allstate Foundation believes in the financial potential of every individual and in helping America's families achieve their American dream.

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Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), Inc. is a nonprofit organization striving to decrease violence in our schools and communities by promoting student involvement, education and service opportunities to provide safer environments for learning.