Youth and Road Safety

By Isaiah Stewart

Throughout the world, governmental and non-profit organizations have meticulously devoted time to address the prevalent issue of young adults and their driving practices. On an international scale a recent publication by the Colorado Department of Transportation (2013) has unearthed that in the first year of driving, young persons, whose ages range from 18-25, are almost four times more likely to be involved in a serious or fatal vehicular accident than more experienced or older drivers. Within the context of Trinidad and Tobago, the Central Statistical Office has made public the 2015 vehicular accident statistics, which vividly shows a total of twenty-four young persons between the ages of 15-24 succumbing to injuries associated with a vehicular crash. In this article we will examine these alarming statistics and plausible causes for this vehicular carnage on the respective roadways.

Bady on Board Ensuring Child Passenger Safety

The alarming number of deaths and injuries as a result of road crashes in Trinidad and Tobago continues to be a growing public concern. Instances where infants are placed on the rear seat of the car unrestrained, where toddlers are allowed to ride in the front passenger seat of the vehicle or where children are allowed to stand between front seats while the vehicle is in motion are unfortunately, common practices in Trinidad and Tobago. Like seat belts, child safety seats and booster seats reduce the likelihood of a child being hurt or killed in a motor vehicle crash. This article discusses the need for restraints, the importance of age-appropriate restraints, the various types of restraints and the correct use of child restraints.

Fatigue and The Designated Driver A Lethal Combination

The term “designated driver” is widely used today in many countries. But you may be surprised to learn that this is not a new concept. In fact the idea of the designated driver actually originated in Scandinavia in the 1920s. In 1986 the concept was introduced in Canada as “The Canadian Club Designated Driver Program” by Hiram Walker and Sons. The program was accepted readily and supported by the police, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the hospitality industry and the public.
However, it was at the Harvard University School of Public Health, Center for Health Communication in 1988 that brought the concept to life and laid the groundwork for what has become so widely acceptable today as the “designated driver”. That year, the Harvard Alcohol Project was launched to show how the concept of the designated driver could challenge popular social conventions of drinking and driving. The Project partnered with major Hollywood studios and television broadcast networks ABC, NBC and CBS to release a series of public service announcements aimed at drunk driving prevention. The Project received national praise and attention since road accidents was in the 1980s, the leading cause of death for Americans aged 15 to 24.