- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been provided by The Fidelco Group.

The New Jersey Education Association.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Here when you need us most, now and always.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Choose New Jersey.

TD Bank.

Rowan University.

University Hospital.

One goal, one passion, every patient, every time.

And by The North Ward Center.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Chamber.

Building connections, driving business growth.

And by NJBIZ, providing business news for New Jersey for more than 30 years, online, in print, and in person.

[MOTIVATIONAL MUSIC] - Hi, folks, Steve Adubato here, everything you ever wanted, but more importantly, needed to know about teen driver safety.

I gotta tell you, as we do this program on the 20th of July, our son, Chris, is turning 17, our other son, Nick, is 18.

I don't know how challenging this is for other parents, but I would say this, it's not just the anxiety connected to it, but the concern, the trying to, teaching our kids about teen driver safety, it's complex, it's important now more than ever, and we have an expert panel.

We kick off with Violet Marrero, who is Consumer Safety Director at NJM Insurance Group.

Wendy Berk is Vice President of Development Communications at the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey.

John Donaldson is Director of Media and Communications at Lenape Regional High School.

And finally, Darren West is a former student at Shawnee High School.

Good to see all of you.

- Thanks, Steve.

- Listen, again, not about us, not about our teenage boys.

It's about everyone out there who needs to be concerned about teen driver safety.

Let me kick off with you, Violet.

NJM, big supporter of public broadcasting, big supporter of what we're doing, particularly around teen driver safety.

Why is the teen driver safety initiative so important at New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company?

- Well, Steve, it really goes back to our roots of safety, which began with policy holders.

And so, yeah, as you may know, we began in the workplace, making them safer for our policy holders.

And it was a policy holder that actually got our start in teen driver safety, who had lost a child and reached out to us looking for some support.

And it actually went to Lenape District.

So our start is actually with Lenape, and just thrilled that we could come full circle today.

But, you know, we recognize that by making young drivers safer, we're making the roads safer for all of our policy holders, not just the policy holders who have been drivers because they're sharing the roads with them.

And the lack of experience that they have and immaturity really of the brain and the way that it processes puts them at so much of a greater risk, in particular, in those first like few months that they begin to drive when they get out there on the road.

So the more that we can do to educate people and make, you know, empower families with the information that they need and the tools and resources to protect their young drivers on the roads, you know, the safer that we're going to make the state.

- And by the way, in terms of public awareness, at the end of this segment, we're gonna run a PSA.

This is a PSA that is called, Heads Up, Eyes Forward, produced, who produced that, by the way?

- That was produced by the Lenape Regional High School District, particularly John Oleniacz, who worked with Darren as a graduated senior from Shawnee High School.

- And that was recognized how so?

- That was recognized by NJM first in their PSA contest.

The first time they ran it in New Jersey and we won the grand prize for that, our students did.

And then it was also recognized as part of our collaborative and our compilation of other things that we did for the Heads Up Eyes Forward campaign, for You Got Brains champion schools program in their 11th year.

So we recognized in both of those.

Let me ask you, Wendy, your organization, tell us exactly how and why the Brain Injury Alliance in New Jersey is connected to this initiative.

- Sure, Steve, so the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey, started seeing a lot of people calling our organization, needing support for young drivers, who had sustained traumatic brain injuries in car crashes.

And that was going along with an increase that we were seeing in New Jersey among fatalities, you know, serious injuries and crashes.

And so we knew that we needed to do something.

And we connected with NJM, who was also a long-term partner of ours and decided to reach out to the high schools and work with the teens and have the teens be the ones to create the message.

We had spoken to teens and did some focus groups and heard from the teens time and time again, that they don't want to be lectured by parents or teachers.

If they're going to change the way they do things, they need to hear it from their peers, in a way that resonates with them.

And so we started 11 years ago as a trial, and we thought, let's just see what New Jersey has to offer.

And we were just so pleasantly surprised of the energy, innovative ways that New Jersey teens spread the message about being safe drivers.

And we're proud that Lenape Regional High School district was actually one of our pilot schools and have been with us ever since.

- Hey Dan, before I come back to you, let's take a look at this PSA.

Darren, you had a hand in it, right?

- Yes.

- Heads Up, Eyes Forward.

Let's check it out.

(upbeat music) So Darren, there it is.

The message is clear.

Why do you care so much about teen driver safety, Darren?

- Yeah, I mean, as a new driver myself, I'm 18 years old right now and have been driving for a year now and really just being on the roads for the first time and seeing all my friends starting to drive too, it really resonates with me.

Just like keeping like friends safe and new family members, my cousins are starting to drive.

So I wanted to kind of help spread the message to the whole school district and to everybody really.

- Hey Darren, let me ask you, how honest the conversation is there among your peers?

About a couple of things.

I don't want you to feel put on the spot, but again, you're closest to this.

A, how much of an honest discussion, is there about drinking and driving?

- I'd say it's definitely a factor.

Like I know I've heard people saying like, I mean, people know the dangers of drinking and driving obviously.

So I've definitely heard people talking about like, oh, designated drivers, not drinking and driving just in general.

- You've heard them talk about that.

And have you seen a consistent number of teens not taking the wheel because they have been drinking and having a designated driver.

You see that?

- I have seen that on occasion, yeah.

Like just being very conscious of that and being careful on the road.

- John, let me ask you this.

Media, communications, which makes me think of another distraction and issue on the roads.

How serious a problem, and there are major distractions, and by the way, texting is just one of them.

There's food, there's drinking.

There's a lot of things going on.

Talk to us, John, about the distractions out there and its impact on teen driver's safety.

Please John.

- So yeah, Steve, as you brought up, there's many distractions.

When you and I first started driving, you had dial on the radio and that was about it.

These cars, the kids have their phones now.

They have all these different devices hooked up to the car, not just their phones and it's a different world.

And over, you know, we began this 11 years ago and these are huge distractions for kids because as you know, these are devices that are in their hands 24/7.

It's where they live and to tear themselves away from it, while they're in the car is not an easy thing.

It almost becomes an addiction to be on that device.

And to be able to put it down is super important for these kids.

Yeah there are, there are other distractions like food, having kids in the back of your car that could be distracting you with noise, things of that nature.

But we feel that one of the biggest ones is having that phone and being able to turn it off and put it away while they're in the car.

So we really focus a lot of our messages towards that because we find that that's the hardest one to tear themselves away from.

I think Darren and everybody would agree with that.

So that's kind of where we focus in that.

You know, we do other messages as well because they are important messages, but we find that one is super important Steve.

- Hey Violet, et me follow up with you.

We've been having this, these discussions with the team at NJM for many years, about public awareness around teen drivers safety, but it strikes me that COVID and the reality of COVID, we're taping this program at, toward the end of July, 2021.

I sit there and I go, wait a minute.

Again, I'm only bringing it back to our son, Chris right now because for a long period of time, I'm like, can you be in the car with someone?

How do you do it remotely?

Here's my question.

How has COVID to date, impacted teen driver safety education, A and B how much can it be done remotely versus in person?

- Well for us, it didn't have an impact, necessarily in terms of us reaching, reaching classrooms, being able to present to teens, being able to present to their parents as well.

We have a classroom program called, What Do You Consider Lethal?

that's actually focused on distraction.

- What's it called again?

- What Do You Consider Lethal?

- Go ahead.

- And we also have a parent program called, parent teen program, that's called Share the Keys.

It's an orientation that really - Share the Keys.

- Share the Keys.

- So for Share the Keys, it's actually a program I would love for you to participate in because as a parent of a new driver, when you have all of the information that you need on the different things that you need to, to support those young drivers through the process, it's incredibly empowering and it takes a lot of, I would say the worry out of the process.

- How does it work?

- So we host orientations at high schools.

We also host them virtually.

So at this point, we're prepared in the Fall to be able to do both.

To do in-person presentations at high school traditionally where they're held, as well as virtually for anyone who would like to participate.

- That's good stuff.

You know, let's go back to parenting or the role of parents in this.

I literally said to my wife, and again, I'm only talking about us because we're in the middle of this right now, we represent millions of other parents who have gone through this or are going through it.

I said to her, you know, hey Jen, we need to get Chris out on the road more and certain kinds of roads, parking, parallel parking is another story.

But that being said, Wendy let me ask you from your perspective and your organization, how much should parents be engaged and involved versus delegating it to professionals, in the field of teen driver education and safety?

I know there's no clear cut answer, but a lot of parents struggle with that, please.

- Yeah, parents do struggle with it.

I went through it as well as most of everybody here.

And you know, we really know, and there's been a lot of research Steve, that talks about being an involved parent really helps make a difference to keep your teen safe on the road.

Now the structure in New Jersey is typically that people will hire somebody for those six hours behind the wheel, which it sounds like your son is doing now, but we try to drill into the parents and that's a big of Share the Keys.

It's a large component of what we, you know, try to educate people about is that practice, practice, practice.

And we were talking to high school kids and their parents, you know, parents like us who have spent hours driving their kids to soccer fields and baseball practice and music lessons.

And yet, for whatever reason, that's not translating to when they're starting to drive.

And so there is legislation pending, about increasing practice hours.

But as you said, you know, there is nothing more important than having those teens practice and having the parents be in the car.

Because what we find out is that, parents really are the biggest role model and parents will teach their kids how to drive and they will learn the rules of the road.

As long as the parent is following that and practicing in all different speeds, all different roadways, all different weather, you know, nighttime, daytime.

So practice Steve, we can't stress how important that is, to be involved with your children.

There's Tik-Tok videos, there's PSA's, there's campaigns, but I keep thinking to myself, how much, from your perspective, Darren, do teens learn about driving from watching their parents drive?

- I think a hundred percent majority of what you learn about driving is from your parents.

Like my sophomore year in school, I took a class fully on like driving rules of the road.

Like these are like the hard rules of the road, but parents so much more impacted where everywhere I'm really driving is where my parents have driven me before.

So seeing how they handle this intersection and how they do this, how, how they do that and just how they make the whole ride feel.

I feel like really impacts.

- And real quick.

If a parent is on the phone, trying to text, putting on makeup, eating, drink, whatever you can say, all the right things.

Is it more important what you say or what you do, Darren?

- I mean, actions hundred percent, a hundred percent speak louder than words.

- Hey, listen, you know who you are.

I know I am.

We know we talk a good game.

We can talk about all of our fears and concerns for our kids as they drive.

And we can't guarantee their safety, but boy, can we make a difference.

And rhetoric is cheap.

I'm off my soap box.

We're going to break, we'll come back.

Teen driver safety, right after this, To see more Think Tank with Steve Adubato programs and to listen to Think Tank with Steve Adubato the Podcast, visit us online at steveadubato.org.

If you would like to express an opinion, email us at info@caucusnj.org.

Find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/steveadubatophd and follow us on Twitter @steveadubato.

We're back talking about teen driver safety.

They're not many issues more important than this, John you were, you were talking during the quick break.

I was talking about parents.

I was on my soapbox.

I'll get off, you get on yours.

Go ahead.

- Sure.

Steve.

So yeah, we were talking about parent influence on drivers and you know, our students, everything that we do as part of our Heads Up, Eyes Forward program is student driven.

And one of the ideas that our students had, was to reach out to kids in the elementary schools.

So what we did was we went into second grade classes, right before the holidays and our students worked with second graders to put together little gifts to bring home to their parents, which was basically a message of say, hey mom and dad, I love you.

Please put the phone down or don't do any distractions while you're driving.

We love you very much.

It was essentially along those lines, Steve.

And then, you know, cause to reach, the parents when their kids are little and they're impressionable.

By the time they're in high school, you know, we all have teenagers.

They're not listening quite as intently and they're not as impressionable as they are that young age.

So to start those good habits as a parent and not to pick your phone up, not to put your makeup on while your kid's sitting in the back seat, cause they're watching.

You may not think they are, but they're definitely watching.

And they're picking up those habits from you.

- Well said, hey Violet, let me come back to you.

Can we talk social media?

When NJM started being as engaged or getting engaged as they were at the time and continued to be, social media was not what it was.

Tik-Tok not what it is.

How has that impacted the work of you and your colleagues in this initiative?

- I think it's been a tremendous gift because it's allowed us to extend our message in a way that we wouldn't have otherwise without social media.

And it's empowered young people, you know, the teens that are engaged in our programs to be able to share their messages with their peers.

And as Wendy shared, they're the most powerful influencers over their peers.

And so I believe that it's really helping us, you know, influence young drivers, open their eyes to what it is that you know, they have in terms of distractions and put that phone down and just drive.

- Jump in here, Wendy, I see you shaking your head, social media and teen driver safety.

- Yeah, well, you know what Steve, it's funny because like the invent of social media really happened right along the time where we was starting, the You Got Brains program, but it was new to us.

So, you know, we were looking at MySpace and different things, but the kids came in and so they've sort of had us in the forefront of being able to share messages through Snapchat and Tik-Tok and mannequin challenges and any of the new trends that were hitting the teens.

I think that's really been the beauty of working with the students because that is where they spend their time.

They are the experts in it and they know how to be able to spread awareness.

So agree with Violet, but we were given this gift that doesn't cost us anything and people can put out a message and have it go viral.

So, you know, we're so grateful for the students who really have taken the lead in giving us that social media presence.

We've got two Tik-Tok videos.

What are we about to see Darren?

By the way, I'm turning you into a broadcaster right now.

You're my color commentator, go ahead.

- All good.

So the first video is a video that I made.

Basically showing like in a funny way, like put down your phone and like your parents will be proud of you when you do.

It will like, if it's a little thing, just putting your phone down, it'll still make a big impact.

And then the second one is just promoting the Heads Up, Eyes Forward program in general.

- Hey, Tik-Tok makes a difference.

So check it out.

- Just so you know, mom, I am about to do something that's very very big, very important when you hear about it, you're going to be very proud.

(jazzy music) ♪ The pain still grows ♪ ♪ It's no stranger to you and me ♪ ♪ I can feel it coming in the air tonight ♪ ♪ Oh lord ♪ - Darren, I have to ask you, not only what was it like doing it, What has it been like getting the reaction you've gotten?

- Yeah, I mean making the videos, it's just so fun in the first place because I do research by just looking at Tik-Toks and getting my ideas from there, which is so fun to begin with and then making those videos and putting it out to this giant audience, is just really fun.

And it's rewarding seeing the views on the video, seeing people like the videos and seeing that it is hitting an audience.

- Let me ask you something John, as you listen to Darren right now.

Yes, I've been on Tik-Tok, our daughter on Tik-Tok more than I'd like, and an awful lot of them.

I, hmm, I'm way too old to get a lot of them.

But half of them I'm like, what, why, what, what do you, and then I listen to Darren.

It isn't just the technology and the platform.

It's how you choose to use it correct, sir?

John jump in.

- 100% correct.

And you know, what we'd love to do with the kids is let them have some fun with it.

These are serious messages, but they want to have fun.

And there's nothing wrong with having fun and spreading this message.

So, you know, the videos we saw, that Darren was a part of making are a lot of fun.

We've done other ones throughout the year.

Also on our Twitter page, we have a lot of fun with things, that are in the current news.

So like we took Ever Given.

when it was stuck in the Suez Canal and we photo-shopped our magnet that we have here, that we have here on the back of the ship and said, Hey, Ever Given you are not our prize winner this month because we have a weekly parking spot prize that we give out, But you know, here's a magnet to put on the back of the ship and we put it on the back of that ship and we have some fun with it.

So whenever things are trending like that, we try to jump on them and make them part of our campaign because that's what, you know, they're watching.

- So Violet, this can be done in such a way, it's a serious business, obviously serious injury and death.

And we've known too many horrific stories, where things have gone wrong on the roads with young people, serious injury and death.

But let me ask you having fun with it and learning is one thing, but the other thing is you have, you have a relationship with CHOP tell everyone what CHOP is and why it's connected to this initiative.

- Well, Children's Hospital, it's Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

- Of Philadelphia, right.

- And we've, we've partnered with them, to work on a driving assessment that's really going to revolutionize the way that we assess teen driver safety.

So it's basically a simulated experience with the most prevalent crash experiences that teens would have, and it accurately predicts their pass or fail rate on a road test.

It also accurately predicts their crash experience.

And so, you know, I want you to imagine taking your child to their pediatrician and having them do this assessment as part of their physical, the annual physical, and coming away with a report that tells you exactly where their weaknesses are behind the wheel and what you can do to strengthen them.

And that, just to me, changes everything.

I know as a parent whose raised three children, who've gone through this process.

It's an incredibly exciting thing to be able to turn over.

It's also for me, exciting because you know, this was a very difficult year that we had and young drivers didn't get the experience that they needed on the road.

They didn't get that exposure.

And we're also seeing very alarming trends when it comes to things like speeding, where they represented a study that was recently done by (indistinct) - Yeah fewer people on the road.

What's the big deal if I'm speeding?

- Yeah, well, and the thing is that people sped more and they were more distracted, right?

Which speaks to this campaign and the importance of spreading this message.

But in particular, when you think about young drivers being vulnerable drivers they happen to represent their, as drivers and their passengers, the largest, largest contingent of drivers who were involved in fatal, fatalities when it comes to speed.

And so that's another alarming trend that, you know, we really want to work to address and see reduced as quickly as possible.

- So listen to Violet, to Wendy, to John and, and Darren, and by the way, Darren as a young, young person who comes on public broadcasting, on other platforms to handle yourself, as well as you have done for the last half hour is very impressive.

You've made a difference and not really sure.

And you're a leader, a student of leadership.

And I know it when I see it.

A lot of people are proud of you.

Thank you, thank all of you.

So listen, folks, teen drivers safety, it's not about being on a soap box or preaching.

It's about protecting our teens.

Driving is serious business, and we need to be in this together, teaching, advocating, preaching, and actually doing the right thing ourselves as parents.

Right, modeling good behavior.

This has been all about teen drivers safety.

I cannot imagine a more important topic and I'm Steve Adubato, that's a great panel and we'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Fidelco Group.

The New Jersey Education Association.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Choose New Jersey.

TD Bank.

Rowan University.

University Hospital.

And by The North Ward Center.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Chamber.

And by NJBIZ.

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You might see me as an ordinary person, but I've been living with a brain injury since 2018.

Opportunity Project gave me hope and I've gained confidence through job skill training and helping my family.

Despite my challenges with memory, I see a possibility to keep improving.

- [Narrator] If you have a brain injury, you don't have to face your road to recovery alone.

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