WELLINGTON COUNTY – Safe Communities Wellington County (SCWC) is partnering with Parachute, Canada’s national injury prevention organization, to present the eleventh annual National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) from Oct. 15 to 21.
NTDSW is an awareness week designed to build public awareness of teen driver safety issues and encourage communities to be part of the solution.
This year’s NTDSW will focus on youth as changemakers, to highlight and support young Canadians’ role in improving road safety.
As part of NTDSW this year, Parachute has launched the Youth Road Safety Grant Program. It will enable youth to take the lead on road safety education and advocacy by funding local, engaging, youth-initiated and led projects educating young people and community members on pressing road safety issues and safe driving behaviour, or advocate for proven measures in their communities.
This year Safe Communities Wellington County will be touring Wellington County high schools, as well as partnering with Wellington OPP to hold “positiveticket blitzes across the county to educate youth about the dangers of impaired, distracted, and aggressive driving.
SCWC notes youth and young adults are killed in road crashes at a higher rate than any other age group under 75 years old.
With road crashes being the third-leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24 years old, that age demographic has the highest rate of involvement in fatal collisions per 100,000 licensed drivers.
