The campaign was initially launched in 2022 by We Save Lives, in Alexandria, VA and The National Road Safety Foundation, New York City, two non-profits whose focus is on highway safety.
Passengers accounted for 24 percent of passenger vehicle fatalities nationwide in 2020, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“Many of those lives might have been saved had a passenger in the car insisted that the driver slow down, stop texting or not get behind the wheel in the first place,” said Candace Lightner, the campaign’s organizer and the founder of We Save Lives.
More than 60 traffic safety and advocacy groups nationwide will encourage passengers to SPEAK UP with a campaign that will include a nationwide media blitz, social media outreach and involvement from groups including the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents traffic safety offices in all 50 states, the National Safety Council and youth advocacy groups SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and FCCLA, with more than 600,000 student members.
Plans for the campaign include distribution of materials about how to speak out, scripts and videos giving examples of when and how to SPEAK UP, and calls for people to sign the “Courage to Intervene” promise.
“Bad driving choices, whether a driver is impaired by alcohol or drugs, is speeding or driving aggressively, or can’t stay awake at the wheel, put passengers and others at risk of serious injury or death,” said Lightner, who has been a leading traffic safety advocate since 1980 when her 13-year-old daughter Cari was killed by a multiple repeat offender drunk driver. “Passengers need to speak up when they see dangerous driving behavior,” she said. “We hope this campaign empowers passengers to be safety advocates, to the point where it becomes acceptable – even expected – for passengers to SPEAK UP when confronted with an irresponsible driver.”
“Knowledge is a big part of traffic safety,” said Michelle Anderson, director of operations at The National Road Safety Foundation, a non-profit founded more than 60 years ago to promote safe driving behavior through education. “When people understand risks like impairment, distraction, speed, aggression and drowsiness, there’s a better chance they will avoid taking those risks or letting others do so. The National Passenger Safety Week campaign educates and empowers passengers about how they can save lives by calling out unsafe driving before crashes happen.”
Visit nationalpassengersafety.org for more information and to sign the Courage to Intervene promise.
We Save Lives, founded by in 2014 by Candace Lightner, is an umbrella organization of more than 50 highway safety advocates, law enforcement agencies, companies, local, state, national and international organizations, victim’s/survivor groups, and others who want to stop the carnage on our highways. She also founded MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) in May of 1980.
The National Road Safety Foundation produces free videos and teaching materials on distracted driving, speed and aggression, impaired driving, drowsy driving, driver proficiency, pedestrian safety and a host of other safety issues. It also sponsors contests to engage teens in promoting safe driving to their peers and in their communities, partnering nationally with youth advocacy groups including SADD and FCCLA and major auto shows in Chicago and Detroit.