It’s often hard to captivate young people’s attention when talking about safe driving. Students sit with blank expressions as you lecture them, information going into one ear and out the other. You might wonder, “How do I captivate their attention?” It is simple if you follow these three tips on to how to get the great message of YOVASO/safe driving across to your peers!

1. Be Excited/Passionate about what you’re saying
It is so easy to get bored doing the same thing. The key is to get excited about what you are saying. If you are not excited, no one else will be. If you sound like Eeyore saying, “Wearing your seatbelt can save your life”, people will more than likely tune you out. Now if you come in doing cartwheels and chanting, “Wearing your seatbelt can save your life”, people would be like “Hey, I wanna be like them, I’ll wear my seatbelt!” (Now if you cannot be that excited, an in-between medium works as well)

2. Appeal to Your Peers
If it does not seem exciting, do not waste your time in trying to make it work. Would you rather sit and listen to a lecture or do hands-on activities? By contacting Mary King at mary.king@vsp.virginia.gov , you can request hands on activities to have at your school. Last year during Arrive Alive, YOVASO Lancers (Amherst County High School) had the 10th graders drive a course with a golf cart. The trick was to add in distracted driving. In the 2019 class, more people wear their seatbelts and do not use their phones while driving than the 2018 class that did not have this training. In addition, the 10th graders had a blast!

3. Practice what you preach
You are a leader in your school; otherwise, you would not be reading this…trust me! Underclassmen look up to seniors, juniors, & sophomores, and your actions matter. With that said if you are an advocate for no texting and driving, do not text and drive. If you think people should wear seatbelts, make sure you have yours on. I can guarantee you someone is always paying attention, absorbing everything you do (even if you do not know it).

Now, it is up to you take all of these tips, some of these tips, or none of these tips. These are just a few tips I follow as a leader in my school and a safe driving advocate. If you need help developing your ideas and putting them into action, do not hesitate to share them with your club! Everything starts with an idea!

Submitted by: Shaun McBride, student at Amherst County High School and member of YOVASO’s Youth Advisory Council