To build awareness on the power of peer-to-peer communication and advocacy, Channel One News and The Allstate Foundation have partnered to launch a multi-platform smart teen driving campaign during the 2008-2009 school year.
The campaign will educate teens and encourage them to become advocates of smart driving practices. The pairing between Channel One, a primary news and content provider for teens that reaches more than six million students in middle schools and high schools nationwide, and The Allstate Foundation, a charitable organization focused on initiatives that promote safe and vital communities, underscores a shared commitment to elevate teen driving discussion on high school campuses nationwide. “This partnership builds on The Allstate Foundation’s long-term commitment to address the number one killer of teens – motor vehicle crashes, which claim more than 5,000 teen lives each year. The Allstate Foundation Teen Driving Program harnesses the positive power of peer influence to change the way teens think and act in the car, as a driver or passenger,” says Susan Duchak, program manager. Set to launch in time with the 2008 back-to-school season, the smart teen driving campaign will utilize multiple media platforms, from teen-inspired and teen-produced news segments to pop quizzes and awareness spots running on the Channel One News broadcast to tie-ins online. The campaign also will provide educators with materials, resources and learning opportunities through Channel One Connection — commercial-free educational programming — and ChannelOneNetwork.com, a Web-based community for educators. Activity will focus on creating awareness around dangerous driving timeframes for teens such as the winter holidays and late spring into summer. The campaign’s content will center on researched topics that contribute to or can help reduce teen crashes such as fatigue, driver distractions, seat belts and skillful co-piloting. “Today’s teen driving statistics are unacceptable, but can be influenced by the right kind of educational intervention,” says Paul Folkemer, Channel One’s director of education. “In addition to arming teens with facts and figures, the year-long campaign with The Allstate Foundation encourages teens to educate their peers about smart driving. Through story telling, the issue is instantly brought to a more personal level and the message is harder hitting.” For more information, visit ChannelOne or The Allstate Foundation online. | 
