Teen Safe Driving Program

Funding Guidelines

The goal of The Allstate Foundation Teen Safe Driving program is to help reinvent the way teens approach driving to help save young lives and instill a lifetime of safe driving attitudes and behaviors. Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of all ages from 5 to 34, with teens crashing four times more often than any other age group*. Each year, more than 4,000 teens are killed and more than 350,000 injured in largely preventable motor vehicle crashes. No other behavior or hazard (including homicide or suicides) comes close to claiming as many young lives*.

The annual teen driving fatality / injury rate has been unacceptably high for the past 10 years despite safer cars and roadways and restrictive driving laws. Sadly, teen driving deaths and injuries have devastating consequences on individuals, families and communities. The Allstate Foundation believes that every teen should have the opportunity to dance at their senior prom, walk across the stage on graduation day and fulfill their hopes and dreams.

The Allstate Foundation Teen Safe Driving Program is addressing the issue by making smart driving socially acceptable to teens. The program has four components:

• The program's primary strategy is to grow its Keep the Drive (KTD) teen-to-teen smart driving movement. KTD uses the power of peer influence to educate teens; change the way teens think and act in the car as a driver or passenger; and, empower teens to become smart driving activists. For more KTD information, please visit our Web site for teens: www.KeeptheDrive.com.
• Community outreach to involve key teen influencers (parents, schools, community groups and leaders, elected officials, etc.) to reinforce teen smart driving and surround teens with smart driving messages. For more information, please visit our Web site for adults: www.ProtectTeenDrivers.com.
• Thought leadership and advocacy to advance public understanding of the issue and inform public policy decisions.
• Public awareness (among teens and adults) to elevate teen driving as a chronic public health issue.

In 2010, priority will be given to programs that:

• Help grow the KTD teen-to-teen smart driving movement. Programs focused only on community outreach, thought leadership or public awareness to reduce teen motor vehicle crashes will be funded as resources allow.
• Provide unique and innovative ways to make smart driving socially acceptable to teens.
• Focus on the real and deadly dangers of distracted driving, particularly the use of cell phones while driving, including texting.
• Appropriately reach diverse audiences, with culturally-sensitive program tactics and messages.
• Reflect collaboration among multiple organizations with distinct roles and responsibilities clearly articulated for each partner and a viable operating plan demonstrating how the partners will work together on the program effectively.
• Offer sustainable change, meaning that new teen drivers also will benefit from the program in future years.
• Measurably reach the largest number of teens in the most meaningful and impactful ways.
• Are replicable in other communities with details provided on the specific ways that program information will be shared with other organizations and/or communities on a national, state or local level.
• Demonstrate an understanding of teens and the ways they are most receptive to program information and messages, including appropriate use of new and emerging social (online) media and word-of-mouth communications.
• Help generate awareness of the teen driving issue and the program's strategies and tactics through effective communication plans.
• Outline ways to appropriately engage Allstate agents and employees as volunteers in the program.

Programs will be measured against the following success metrics:

• The number of communities reached through the program.
• The number of teens:
• Reached with appropriate messages delivered through peer-to-peer communications.
• Actively involved in conducting peer-to-peer programs.
• Who led peer-to-peer programs.
• Evidence that the program messages have changed the ways teens think and act in the car as a driver or passenger.
• Traffic driven to the program's two Web sites, to draw upon existing Foundation resources, tools and messages.
• Program information shared with key opinion leaders, including community and leaders and elected officials, to help advance public understanding of the teen driving issue and potential solutions to help address it.
• Public awareness of the teen driving issue, and the program's strategies and tactics as measured by coverage in traditional and online media outlets.
• Capacity to reach diverse audiences in culturally relevant ways.
• The number of local Allstate agents and employees appropriately engaged in the program.