Teens are overly confident and think they’re invincible. Most parents have years of driving experience and feel they are qualified instructors to teach their own children how to drive safely. Everyone thinks they know everything.
Instead of fighting these perceptions, the IKnowEverything program recognizes this dichotomy – teens have heard messages about safe driving and parents have repeated messages about safe driving. Developed to prepare teens to be safe behind the wheel, IKnowEverything is an integrated effort that highlights the issues of drunk driving and distracted driving, and reiterates to parents that they have the most influence on their teen’s driving behaviors.
While some progress has been made in recent years regarding teen driver safety, The Century Council wants to help continue this positive movement. Here are a few other reasons why we have developed the IKnowEverything resource:
- Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one killer of teenagers ages 15 to 20, even though underage drinking and drunk driving among teens is down across the nation.
- Even though it is illegal for people under 21 to drink any alcohol and drive, one-third of all teen drivers killed in vehicle crashes had a .01 BAC or higher in 2010.
- Everyone shares the road – teens, adults, law enforcement, first responders - and we believe this education effort will save lives, making the roads safer for all.
IKnowEverything was developed using qualitative and quantitative research methods including:
- Focus groups with teenagers
- Interviews with judges
- Online surveys with teens and their parents
Originally developed for Virginia judges and as a supplement to the Virginia Department of Education driver education curriculum, The Century Council has now partnered with the International Association of Chiefs of Police Foundation, the National Organizations for Youth Safety and the National Sheriffs’ Association to distribute this resource to law enforcement, juvenile judges, educators, traffic safety professionals and anyone else across the nation to increase teen driver safety.
For more information on the IKnowEverything program, please contact Jaime Alvis Lotter, Director of Government Relations and Traffic Safety at 202-637-0077 or lotterj@centurycouncil.org.
About The Century Council:
The Century Council has been dedicated to developing and implementing programs that fight drunk driving and underage drinking for over 20 years. To date, it has hosted more than 3,000 community events across the nation bringing programs to parents, youth, educators, law enforcement officials and traffic safety professionals. For more information about The Century Council, please visit www.centurycouncil.org.
About the International Association of Chiefs of Police Foundation:
The mission of the IACP Foundation is to support injured and fallen officers and their families, protect the safety of officers, and support the goals and programs of the IACP. The Foundation is committed to creating a lifelong culture of officer safety, health and wellness for active law enforcement officers, while also honoring those who have fallen by providing immediate assistance, educational scholarships for survivors, and access to counseling. For more information, visit http://www.theiacp.org/Foundation.
About the National Organizations for Youth Safety:
NOYS is a collaboration of over 70 national, youth-serving organizations, including non-profit organizations, business and industry leaders, and government agencies, with the common goal of promoting safe and healthy behaviors among our nation's youth. Their mission is to promote youth empowerment and leadership and build partnerships that will save lives, prevent injuries, and promote safe and healthy lifestyles among all youth. For more information, visit www.noys.org.
About the National Sheriffs’ Association:
The National Sheriffs' Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising the level of professionalism among those in the law enforcement field. NSA is a key player in shaping national policy on critical criminal justice and homeland security issues important to the nation's sheriffs, deputies and police in the halls of Congress, US Courts and at the White House. For more information, visit www.sheriffs.org.
