ohio national passenger safety week

The Ohio State Freeway Patrol says crashes claimed the lives of 1,230 individuals in 2020, and greater than half of these killed have been passengers.

OHIO, USA — The primary-ever Nationwide Passenger Security Week wraps up this weekend.

The aim is to get everybody residence secure whereas out on the roads by talking up about unsafe driving practices.

Nationwide Passenger Security Week was launched by the group We Save Lives and the National Road Safety Foundation.

Within the U.S. roadway deaths are rising once more at an alarming price.

Final 12 months alone, practically 40-thousand individuals died in automotive crashes.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says crashes claimed the lives of 1,230 individuals in 2020, and greater than half of these killed have been passengers.

Which is why Candace Lightner, who based Moms Towards Drunk Driving (MADD) in 1980 has a brand new mission referred to as “We Save Lives”.

“We have seen the statistics go up. In your state alone, your fatalities over 6% over 2019,” stated Lightner. “There’s all the time been all this deal with the drivers and but passengers have the best to be secure too.”

And that’s why organizers began Nationwide Passenger Security Week – to hopefully empower passengers to talk up and let drivers know once they’re doing one thing unsafe.

“A distracted driver, for instance, that goes to choose up their cellphone – ‘uh uh’, it’s important to make it very clear that that is not secure, you are not snug with that, that they need to wait until they get to their vacation spot, otherwise you’ll take the decision for them,” stated Lightner.

Lightner was impressed to tell others of the risks on the street after a hit-and-run drunk driver killed her 13-year outdated daughter in 1980.

She says earlier than letting teenagers in a automotive with one other driver, dad and mom ought to ask *themselves a number of questions.”

“Are you aware if they are a secure driver? Are they licensed? Do they put on a seatbelt? Are they on medicine, even prescribed drugs?,” stated Lightner. “There’s a complete checklist of questions and data that it is best to know earlier than you let your teen get in a automotive with another person.”

Lightner says dad and mom need what’s greatest for his or her kids and will keep in mind that *they’re the most effective influences on their baby.”

“Teenagers study extra from their dad and mom driving habits than they do from absolutely anything else,” stated Lightner.

By talking up, you share that you simply care in regards to the lives of your pals, relations, and even strangers.

“Whenever you have a look at the numbers and also you notice if these passengers would simply converse up, what number of lives we may save, it will be within the 1000’s,” stated Lightner.