Today I was at Tartan High School experiencing first hand the Teen Driving Summit. I left with even more of an inspiration in making a difference in the decisions that teens make.
I wanted to give you a little background on the whole experience and who was there. Senator Amy Klobuchar has been working very hard since she was elected as our first female Minnesota Senator in the United States Senate. One of the many issues that she has influenced greatly has been with teen driving laws that she has been establishing. She introduced a bill entitled the Stand-Up Act which has focused on stricter laws with Graduated Drivers Licences (GDL) giving teens more time to learn how to drive without being distracted. That bill was passed and now is being in forced in the state of Minnesota with driving laws.
Today I witnessed her proposal of the Students Taking Action for Road Safety (STARS) Act.This bill will help programs such as Student's Against Destructive Decision (SADD) giving them more funds to implement peer to peer advice to address the issue of teen driving. Klobuchar will soon be proposing this bill in the United States Senate. Here is a quote from Senator Klobuchar. "No single law, or even set of laws, is going to be a cure-all that saves teens from getting hurt or killed on the road. It will take many things. Stronger laws and tougher law enforcement are important and essential. But it's also a matter of personal responsibility for teenagers. It's going to take all of us working together to make a difference. Ultimately, what we need is a cultural change, a shift in values, in what we view as acceptable and unacceptable."
Now that we have a little background let's get started. I met up with the Northern Lights SADD Director Lee Erickson and the National SADD Director Penny Wells, along with the incoming National SADD Student of the Year Jessica Roscoe on Monday night. This morning I awoke to a great breakfast and fabulous conversation about teen driving issues and Senator Klobuchar's viewpoints on the issue.
Then it was off to Tartan High where the Summit was held. We arrived early to get the perfect seats and to chat with other SADD students and directors. Before the Summit started the press had arrived! I got a chance to have a quick radio interview along with an interview with WCCO News. I informed them about my views on the issue of teen texting while driving.
The Summit was about and hour and a half long. A panel of six was involved informing the public about teen driving issues. Here are the people that were on the panel that was lead by Senator Klobuchar.
David Srickland,(National Highway Traffic Saftey Adminstration) NHTSA Administrator
Represenative Kim Norton, Minnesota House of Representatives
Sheriff David Brand, Winona County
Jane Phillips, Mother of child killed by distracted driver
Tashie Kiong, Tartan High SADD President
As you can see it was a very educated panel with a range of different expertise and advice. We were welcomed by Tartan High's Superintendent. She introduced Senator Amy Klobuchar. Klobuchar gave a brief history on the Stand-Up bill and followed with the introduction of the STARTS Act. We then got to hear a keynote from David of NHTSA talking about how to respect your vehicle, others, and yourself while driving. After his keynote we heard from every board member. Their comments ranged from the horrifying experiences with teen traffic deaths, to how important peer to peer eduacation is. Klobuchar ended with questions that were answered by herself and the panel members.
I learned a ton about how much of a difference Senator Klobuchar is trying to make a difference in the lives of teens. After all was complete I was able to chat with Jane Phillips who lost her 17 year old daughter to a distracted driver in 2007. I was also able to speak with David from NHTSA. I ended my day with a hand shake from Senator Klobuchar herself and a few words with her along with a quick picture.
It was a very informative day! I'm so thankful that I had the experience of being a part of the Summit. It was incredible! My involvement with Northern Lights SADD has just been fabulous in the past few months! I'm so glad that I have gotten the opportunity to share my platform as well as talk about the many struggles that teens are faced with today. Positive peer to peer work is going to be the way that we can fix the things that teens are trying to overcome.
Special thanks to!
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Lee Erickson
Penny Wells
Jessica Roscoe
*15 days until MMOT
To check out my interview with WCCO copy and paste the link below into your browser.
http://wcco.com/video/?id=79628@wcco.dayport.com
God Bless!
Paige
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