National Passenger Safety Week, January 20-27, 2025
Passengers accounted for 62 percent of traffic fatalities nationwide in 2019, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. We can reduce these numbers by empowering passengers to speak up for their safety when in a dangerous driving situation. That’s why the Airport Corridor Transportation Association (ACTA) is participating in National Passenger Safety Week, January 20-27, 2025.
The campaign was launched last January by We Save Lives and The National Road Safety Foundation, two non-profits whose focus is on crash prevention and saving lives.
ACTA is joining with more than 60 traffic safety and advocacy groups nationwide who are helping encourage passengers to SPEAK UP. The campaign will include a nationwide media blitz, social media outreach and involvement from groups including the Governors Highway Safety Association, (GHSA) which represents traffic safety offices in all 50 states, the National Safety Council (NSC) and Students Against Destructive Decisions, (SADD) with more than 400,000 student members.
“Passengers can set the ground rules when it comes to their safety. They have the power to keep drivers from using their mobile devices while driving. They should not get in the car with a driver who is impaired, and they have the power to discourage other bad driving choices such as speeding and driving drowsy,” shared ACTA Marketing and Public Outreach Coordinator Mollie Crowe.
Plans for the campaign include the distribution of materials about how to SPEAK UP, including scripts and videos. It also includes the “Courage to Intervene” Promise.
“Much of being a safe driver comes from education,” 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 are knowledgeable about driving risks like impairment, speed, aggression, and drowsiness, there’s a better chance they will avoid taking those risks or letting others do so. The National Passenger Safety Campaign educates and empowers passengers about how they can save lives by calling out unsafe driving in the vehicle before crashes happen.”
Visit nationalpassengersafety.org for more information and to sign the Courage to Intervene Promise.
The Airport Corridor Transportation Association (ACTA) is a nonprofit Transportation Management Association (TMA) serving Pittsburgh’s Airport Corridor, from the Fort Pitt Tunnel through Beaver County. Since 1990, ACTA has brought together private businesses and public agencies to address local transportation challenges, reduce congestion, and improve air quality. ACTA’s programs focus on expanding travel options and supporting economic development. In 2009, ACTA launched rideACTA, an on-demand shuttle service providing critical last-mile transportation to over 350 businesses within 2 miles of IKEA in Robinson. By helping lower-income and entry-level workers access employment, rideACTA enhances workforce retention, productivity, and attendance for businesses in the region.
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. They have launched a number of campaigns to change driving behavior. National Passenger Safety Week is their latest.
The National Road Safety Foundation, for more than 60 years, has produced 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 Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).