Lauren Winborne, founder of the non-profit organization SteerSmart, will speak to students in grades 8-12 on the topic of teen driving on Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. in the Huffman Athletic Center. Parents and members of the Rome/Floyd County community are also welcome to attend. Admission is free.
“Because teen driving fatalities are usually caused by inexperience and unsafe driving habits, SteerSmart seeks to educate parents as well as teens. We hope those parents who are able to will join us for this presentation,” said Jill Pate, director of personal counseling. “Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of fatality among teenage drivers, and this program walks through and dissects the anatomy of specific crashes that resulted in fatalities or severely injured youth. It depicts examples of severe crashes resulting from speed, texting, too many passengers, alcohol and drugs, no seatbelt, intersection awareness, over correcting, weather, etc.”
Winborne, the mother of six, founded SteerSmart to encourage schools, associations and communities to help prevent accidents that take lives and leave survivors impaired for life. The programs she developed arose out of research and interviews with parents who had lost their children to accidents.
According to the organization’s website, presentations focus on decisions and consequences of decisions made specifically in cars. Whether a youth is a driver or a passenger, he or she will learn that there are ramifications for every decision made behind the wheel. Students learn from their peers in the program who have been killed by making just one fatal decision. They also learn from victims who survived crashes but are wheelchair bound because of decisions made just before their crashes.
“The program emphasizes that all students start their day virtually in the same way,” Winborne said. “No one begins their day by thinking, ‘I could die this afternoon.’ The myth that all kids who get killed or injured in these crashes are wasted kids at 1 a.m. is also dispelled. The program shows victims from all walks of life, types of towns, socioeconomic statuses, public and private schools as well as married, divorced and troubled homes. We talk about athletes, musicians, artists, actors and scholars, encompassing the eclectic background of those affected by crashes. Car crashes do not discriminate.”
The SteerSmart program has been delivered in all types of venues to all kinds of audiences. For more information, visit www.steersmart.org.
