Web Site Teaches Teen Safety Behind the Wheel

By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/14/2008

There’s nothing quite as exciting as a teen getting his first driver’s license. But there’s nothing quite as depressing as the sad fact that every 55 seconds a teen is injured in a car crash and every 6.5 minutes one is killed.

Indeed, that freedom “can come crashing down around you in a heartbeat,” says a new Web site,  created by teens for teens and designed to provide Florida kids the information, tips, and skills to arrive home alive.

Takethewheel.net shows a grim video of a young victim being carried away in a stretcher. One teen says, “You don’t think it’s going to happen,” while another accident survivor says, “I was just thinking, wow, I could have been killed.” It ends with the words: Take Charge.

In another video, Cody Sheldon, 16, tells the story of a car accident he and his friend Josh were involved in on the way to school. “I wear my seat belt whenever I get into anything that moves, especially now,” he says.

Motivated by the fact that these accidents can be prevented, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles recently launched this Web site for teen driver safety. 

Their goal is to save as many lives as possible by teaching kids a few simple safe-driving habits. Users can listen to stories from other teens, share their own story, and find out what really happens “when you drive outside the lines.”

"The Department is proactive in our focus on safe driving, and we continue to reach out to teen drivers and their parents through outreach initiatives like Take the Wheel," says Executive Director Electra Theodorides-Bustle. "This teen-based Web site is the first of its kind in Florida as it is interactive and allows teens drivers to share their experiences with peers.  We encourage driver's education instructors to use it as a tool, too."