Pushing for Awareness.(NEWS)

Byline: KAW

A major contributor to the reduction in drunk-driving deaths and injuries in the United States during the past 20 years was a widespread public-relations push to make the behavior socially unacceptable. There was a similar push against smoking. Teens and young adults are still among those who most often take these risks, but it is hoped that similar peer and social pressures can be used to address unsafe driving.

To that end, insurance company State Farm and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia lobbied Congress and got the third week of October designated as National Teen Driver Safety Week. Although the bill was passed barely in time for last year's effort, the designation will apply this October, and advocates will have had a year to gear up their programs.

Also, Bridgestone Firestone North America, a primary sponsor of the Driver's Edge training program, ran its second-annual Safety Scholars event, awarding scholarships to young people ages 16 to 21 who developed public-service commercials promoting auto safety. Social-networking Web sites YouTube, Facebook and MySpace were used to distribute these messages, which you can view at ...