Distracted Driving Program Presented At 2018 YOVASO Summer Leadership Retreat

Students in Virginia will be learning the importance of making responsible decisions while driving and Arrive Alive Tour will be there to help guide them with their distracted driving program. The students are taking part in the 2018 Summer Leadership Retreat. The retreat is sponsored by the Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO). This is a program of the Virginia State Police (VSP).

The Retreat

During the 2018 retreat, students will have a week of educational and hands-on activities focusing on safe driving practices and making smart choices while driving. This retreat takes place at James Madison University from June 18 to June 21. During their time at the retreat, participants will learn all about traffic safety. This will include ways to reduce crash risks, studying negative consequences of poor driving behaviors and training to serve as youth traffic safety advocates.

Once the students complete the retreat, they will be able to work in peer-to-peer programs in their schools. These prpgrams help promote safe teen driving and help to prevent motor vehicle crashes among teenagers. The 2018 Summer Leadership Retreat from YOVASO have 170 students and adult leaders registered.

The retreat is sponsored by YOVASO, VSP, and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Safety Office in partnership with State Farm Insurance and the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. YOVASO is Virginia’s Peer-to-Peer Education and Prevention Program for Teen Driver and Passenger Safety. Membership in YOVASO is free and open to all Virginia high schools, middle schools, and youth groups. YOVASO currently has 100 active member schools.

Distracted Driving Program

The Arrive Alive Tour simulator will be available during the retreat on June 20. The distracted driving program allows students to get behind the wheel of a Jeep Patriot and experience the dangers of distracted driving and impaired driving, but in a controlled environment. The simulator uses a virtual reality headset. This places the participants in a driving situation. Then our facilitators tell them to send a text message using their own phone. This allows the participants to see what looking away from the road for one brief moment can actually do.