TL2D is launching their own extension to Vision Zero
Teens Learn to Drive is bridging the gap in Ontario’s driver education.
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, March 25, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — Provinces, regions and cities across Canada are embracing Sweden’s ‘Vision Zero’. The idea is that no serious injuries or deaths involving motor vehicles are acceptable, so systems should help reduce the damage when drivers make mistakes. Vision Zero Task Forces are busy converting intersections to roundabouts, lowering speed limits and increasing tactical enforcement. Those things are good and necessary but we’re missing the fact that Sweden started by improving their driver education. This reduced the volume of driver errors at the outset.
In Canada, we assume that once someone earns their driver’s license, they are skilled and responsible drivers. What most people don’t know is that according to Ministry of Transportation data, in 2019, 62% of new drivers in Ontario took no formal driver education. The other 38% lack important information too. For example, how far back from the steering wheel does the driver need to be? 10 inches is required to protect the driver from the airbag which deploys at around 300 km/h – and they must be wearing a seatbelt. This simple yet important fact is just one of many that can save a driver’s life, but it isn’t covered by many driver education programs.
Teens Learn to Drive (TL2D) is launching the Vision Zero Youth Network (VZYN) to help fill the gap in driver education. This network will provide young drivers, passengers and pedestrians with the information they need to improve their skills and make better choices on Ontario roads.
Beginning March 1, 2021, high school students across Ontario will be invited to submit a 1-minute video about why they want to join the VZYN. Twelve student Ambassadors will be selected for the September 2021 to June 2022 school year.
In August, ambassadors will come together in Toronto for a mini-conference (virtual, if necessary) where they will learn about interview skills, social media & video creation, marketing, and road safety. They will meet with police and Vision Zero task force partners they will be working with throughout the year, as well as the TL2D Team who will be supporting them.
Then, in September, they will get to work creating and sharing road safety information across the peer-to-peer network. They will also facilitate four 10-minute highly interactive Safety Segments at their high school assemblies, that are based on the award-winning Sweet Life Road Show.
In return, each Ambassador will receive a $500 scholarship and their required Community Service hours – while they build their resumes, portfolios and networks. They will also receive the trip to Toronto and the opportunity to be changemakers in their communities.
Be sure to check the TL2D socials for additional information.
It takes skill, knowledge, and attitude to change behaviour. TL2D’s Vision Zero Youth Network is only the start to ensuring that drivers are responsible and make good decisions. When mistakes are made, the Vision Zero infrastructure will prevent death and serious injury.
Anne Marie Hayes
Teens Learn to Drive Inc.
+1 647 227 4220
AMHayes@TeensLearntoDrive.com
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