D.R.I.V.E.

Drive is an acronym for the Demonstrating Responsibility in Vehicle Education program. A program that is unique to Nanaimo and has been quietly changing lives since March of this year.

Like many good ideas this one started with a Mom who wanted to do all she could to ensure her daughter’s safety. It has grown from there into a program that is helping hundreds of new drivers to understand the risks and responsibilities of driving a car.

Donna Stennes has been working with ICBC for 26 years. She has held several positions including Adjuster and Investigator before becoming ICBC’s Central Island Loss Prevention Coordinator. When her daughter Kayla was taking her Defensive Driving course Donna thought she might be able to contribute something to the course and offered to speak to the class. Then it occurred to her that it might be even more effective if she made her presentation in the ICBC Customer Services Center Facility. The driving school agreed and the idea began to grow.

Today ICBC Loss Prevention is in partnership with all the local driving schools who are teaching the Graduated Licensing Program – Mapping a Safe Course. Together they are presenting the D.R.I.V.E. program on a monthly basis. It is meant to enhance the existing driving school curriculum which is taught over six nights. On one of the evenings the classes are held at ICBC’s Customer Service Center. There the students work interactively with Donna, Constable Norm Smith of the R.C.M.P., Tony Carruthers and Tom Rose from Arrowsmith 2000, Jon Graham and Phil Dutton from Oceanside Driving School, Graham McEwen from Darnel Driving School, Sue Nordli from Cowichan School of Motoring, Ziggy Hildebrandt and Serge Tropia from Ziggy’s Driving Academy, Fed Adkins from Safe n’ Sure Driving Center, Marcie Hutton from All-Class Driver Training and Kate Harris, Jamie Lauriente, Steve Rokyard from Young Drivers of Canada. Each of them presents a portion of the program bringing to it their expertise on road safety.

The students talk to each of the presenters and have an opportunity to “read a wreck” and try the Fatal Vision Goggles. The whole evening is interactive and gives the students the opportunity to learn the consequences of impaired driving, speeding or recklessness without any risk of harm to themselves. They learn ways to prevent crashes and how to drive safely and responsibly. They learn what to do if they are involved in either a major or a minor crash. And they have the opportunity to hear first hand from someone who has survived a major crash or the survivor of a person who has been killed in an auto crash.

That is where RRID enters the picture. Last month I had the honour of speaking to the class about my personal experience with impaired drivers. It was truly one of the most interactive and thought provoking presentations I have ever been involved with. I believe the reason it was so effective was because of the combination of activities that took place that evening. Each segment of the program is designed to enhance the other and the impact on the students is visible.

By the time the students left the Service Center they had been empowered to recognize risks and make informed choices about driving.

Is it effective? Obviously we think so. But this program will be measured by facts. The student participants can voluntarily submit their name and driver’s license numbers. The licenses will be tracked for the next six months to one year to determine whether there has been any difference in the number of crashes between those who were exposed to the D.R.I.V.E program and those who were not. So we will know for certain whether or not we are effective.

I am pleased to announce that RRID is now a partner with ICBC Loss Prevention and the Driving Schools in the D.R.I.V.E. program. We will all work together to continue bringing this program to the community on a monthly basis.

Donna speaks for all of us when she says; Kayla and her young friends are the inspiration and motivation for this program. We want to reduce the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities involving youth in the Central Island area. And we can do that by working together.

Joan Parsons
President
Rid Road of Impaired Drivers

The Facts:

1. Young drivers have twice the rate of crashes as the rest of the driving population.
2. 25% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes are youth.
3. In 2001, 77 youth died on B.C. roads.
4. There were 53,164 youth related incidents in 2001 in B.C., which cost ICBC policyholders approximately $772 million.
5. On Vancouver Island in 2001 there were 1425 youth injured in crashes and 10 fatalities.
6. Licensed drivers aged 16 to 25 represent 15% of all licensed drivers but are responsible for 38% of crash-related claims.

Back to Current Comments