Kendell Poole
GHSO Director

“Teens need to remember whether they are driving across town or just around the neighborhood, wearing safety belts is the absolute best way to protect themselves and their passengers from severe injury or even death,” said GHSO Director Kendell Poole.  “Wearing your safety belt costs nothing, but not wearing it could cost you your life.”

“My hope is that, by raising teen, parent, law enforcement and community awareness of GDL laws," said GHSO Deputy Director Mia Vickers, "ultimately more lives on TN roadways will be saved."

Mia Vickers
GHSO Deputy Director
CIAT Project Director
Mia.Vickers@tn.gov
615.741.5320

Jackson Area Council On Alcoholism & Drug Abuse (JACOA) TN Teen Institute
Tennessee Teen Driver Safety Coalition

The National Safety Council (NSC), The Allstate Foundation (TAF), and Jackson Area Council On Alcoholism & Drug Abuse (JACOA) have joined together to create the Tennessee Teen Driver Safety Coalition (TTDSC).  Our mission is to establish a culture of a safe teen driving based on the proven principles of a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system in order to end crashes, injuries and deaths involving teen drivers on our roads.  TTDSC will strive to engage, educate and mobilize communities to work collectively to develop and improve teen driver safety programs, practices and activities based on proven principles.

Coalition participants include Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Chapters, Governor’s Highway Safety Office staff, state and local law enforcement officials, public health practitioners, members of the medical community, injury prevention groups, teen and parent leaders, and family members and friends of teen crash victims. Members will examine teen driver related data and educate and engage the public through a variety of channels.

Through NSC/TAF support, TTDSC launched a Graduated Driver’s License awareness campaign during the statewide May 2011 National Youth Traffic Safety Month event.  During the month of May, TTDSC teens worked as leaders across the state in order to educate their peers, parents, and law enforcement about the importance of GDL. Teens presented GDL informational sessions at statewide conferences and at local events. Teens discussed issues related to GDL and teen driver safety with representatives on Thursday May 19 when they visited the Tennessee legislature.

The Coalition would like to invite interested members of TN communities to get involved.  If you would like information on the GDL program or how you can help, please contact Kristi J. Townes at 1.731.423.3653. For information on the national project, visit www.nsc.org.

School Posters
Your school can order up to 25 color or black and white TN Teen Safe Driving Coalition posters with your school's information and meeting time. Click on the school poster link above. (Your school can also print out the posters and fill in the information as well.)

How to order:
Send an email to YOUTHED@utk.edu or fax 1.865.974.3889 with the following required information:

For inclusion on poster -
School Name
Meeting Place
Meeting Date(s)
Meeting Time
School Logo (optional attachment on email)
How many posters

To send posters to -
Contact Name
Contact Email
Contact/School Phone Number
School Name
School Address

Note: Poster orders have a 10 business day turn around time. Please order at least two weeks in advance of your meeting time. If you have passed the 10 business day deadline, you can print out the posters with your own printer and fill in the information.

Teen Driving Safety Resources

For more information on Teen Driving Safety go to www.tntrafficsafety.org and click on Links tab.

National Safey Council

Allstate