Crusade for Safety 2013

Hey friends! It's that time of year again! My annual "Crusade For Safety"!! You might wonder, what is that? 

It's just a specific time of year that I like to remind everyone (even myself) about the dangers of distracted driving.  As adults, we get in a hurry, we rush around and sometimes we just don't pay attention. We allllll do it! No matter our backgrounds, it always happens at some point. Now, imagine our *teenagers* doing this. Inexperience is such a dangerous idea when a teen is behind the wheel of the car. 

The US Government has a great web page with all kinds of information and stats on the subject Distracted Driving! I love this resource!!! 

Fox News just put out this article on the 6 causes of distracted driving! I encourage you to read it and see if you are guilty. This is a great article and you might surprise yourself. A lot of us already do these things.

If you are a parent of a teenager, please read all of these links with your children and lay down some ground rules for the car. I'm sure you've already done this, but I encourage you do to this AGAIN. 

Did you know that teens between 16-19 are THREE times more likely to have an accident than those above 20? 

Look at this from the CDC-

"Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are:

• Males: In 2010, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was almost two times that of their female counterparts.1
• Teens driving with teen passengers: The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.4
• Newly licensed teens: Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure.5,6" SOURCE

My reasons for doing this are very personal.  Tomorrow, marks the anniversary that I experienced this first hand.  I was in a head on collision. My accident has all three of the risk factors mentioned above. 

 You can read more about that right HERE!

 I lost a great friend, and have an everyday reminder of this. My face was badly damaged, but I am alive and singing the song of Jesus! I know God spared us that day..I will never understand why he took Jimmy from us, but I know that Jimmy saved me that day. He wouldn't leave until we were all "buckled in", which saved our lives.  This accident wasn't a car full of drunk kids, or anything like that. It was just a result of of distracted driving. We were just a bunch of kids (4 of us) driving to school for our annual "Blue and Gold Day". I make it my mission, to tell people about my story.  To tell parents, that teens need passenger limit rules, TEXTING rules, and radio rules. We all need the reminder, even myself. 

In Loving Memory of Jimmy<3 br="" nbsp="">

Isaiah 41:10

'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'