Share the Drive: Teen-Led Activities

The activities in this section are designed to be easy enough for teens to carry out with minimal adult direction but are designed for maximum impact.

Share the Drive Pledge Wall
Raid the Streets

Activity #1: Share the Drive Pledge Wall and Pledge Certificates

Teens listen to teens. Organize a pledge wall through your school or community center as a way to get teens to monitor each other on specific good driving practices. Here are the basics on how to create one in your community:

Time to Prepare: 2 to 3 weeks

Time to Execute: 1 week

Materials: poster board or banner paper, markers, paper, photo copier

Cost: $20 to $30

Preparation: Have your organizing group review the resource materials at Drive the Message Home and Ride Like A Friend.

2 to 3 weeks before the event:

Create a set of Share the Drive Pledges. Focus on ways to reduce distractions. Use the list of fact-based pledges at the end of this section to get you started.
Teens pick the pledge they want to make and sign their name to it.
Use whatever works for your space: poster board, banner paper, or a blank plastic banner. Just be sure it's big enough to attract attention.
Set a date for the unveiling of the pledge wall and distributing the pledges.
Encourage everyone at your school or organization to make a pledge to help at least one friend.
If the event is at school, let everyone know what you are doing and how they can get involved.
Reach out beyond your school or community group. Consider creating pledge cards people can pass on to friends outside of school and post them as well.
Send out invitations to the unveiling and also add it to your school or organization's events calendar .
Since teens are making a commitment to be safe on the road, invite all who pledged to your event.

On the day of the event:

Gather students, teachers, advisors, family, and friends to unveil the wall.
Take pictures and e-mail them to your local paper with a short caption on the event.

Share the Drive pledge certificates:

Ask teen leaders for their ideas. Here are some others to try:

Pledge ideas for drivers:

I pledge to turn off my cell phone when driving.
I pledge to tell my friends that I cannot be distracted while driving.

Pledge ideas for passengers:

I pledge to make sure that the driver never talks or texts on his cell phone.
I pledge to tell my parents to focus on driving and not to be distracted.

Pledge ideas for parents:

I pledge to never yell at my teen when he/she is driving.
I pledge to drive an extra two hours with my teen every week.
I pledge to show my teen that I turn off my cell phone while driving.

Activity #2: Share the Drive - Raid the Streets

Grab your whole community's attention when you "Raid the Streets." There is probably no better way to share the real teen driving story than letting them see the evidence. Organize a group of teens to make flyers with a little known fact about driving. Then have them hand them out on the streets.

Time to Prepare: 1 to 2 weeks for media outreach, just days for event

Time to Execute: 1 day

Materials: copy machine paper and copying costs

Cost: 0 to $20

Preparation: Have the group review the resource materials at Drive the Message Home.

1 to 2 weeks out:

Pick a street or other venue in your community to pass out the flyers.
Get permission from the appropriate officials; you may need a permit.
Find out if a big event, such as a football game, concert, or festival will be held. You can hand out thousands of flyers at these kinds of events.
Start getting your flyers ready early to get more media coverage.

1 week out:

Copy and distribute the flyers from Drive the Message Home. Then brainstorm short knockout messages with your participants.
After you've picked the set of messages that you think most teens don't know or don't believe, write them on a piece of paper with bold, creative letters.
Make sure that your event is motivating people to do more to fight for Graduated Licensing Laws, which help to prevent teen crashes.
Make sure your messages give a phone number and Web site address for more information.
Make sure your flyers advertise the date of your next activity.