Parents Work Together to Reduce Road Fatalities
Parents of youth who obtained their licences this year or who will come of age to do so over the next several months are being encouraged to design strategies to protect teen drivers.
Prominent among these strategies will be guidelines for a model graduated licensing scheme which parents will be encouraged to adopt until appropriate life-saving legislation can be introduced.
Some of those parents and concerned persons came together last Monday December 23 at a meeting organised by MattSafe.
Just weeks after the tragic August death of her 17-year-old son, Matthew Thompson, from injuries suffered in a one-car accident in May, MattSafe's founder, Ms Patricia Ebanks. began laying the foundation for the organisation. Its purpose, she explains, is to help prevent accidents and deaths from unsafe driving by young drivers, particularly those under the age of 21.
Last Monday's meeting was intended to raise awareness that every young teen driver is at risk and to suggest policies that parents can institute within their families to enable teens to gain driving experience over a more-extended supervised learner's period.
It also provided information to enable parents to make knowledgeable decisions when buying vehicles for their young drivers.
Presenters at the public meeting included representatives from the Royal Cayman Islands Police (RCIP), Rotary Club of Grand Cayman and the Road Safety Advisory Council, who explored different aspects of the problem in Cayman and what is being done in other countries regarding licensing and driver education.
MattSafe committee members also outlined the organisation's work to date and provided an overview of short- and long-term goals and actions.
"Young drivers and all persons who play a role in their being on the road, whether they are parents, guardians, friends or those representing agencies related to driving need to know and appreciate the risks associated with driving among novice teen drivers. There are also policies we need to introduce in order to minimise or even overcome these risks," Ms. Ebanks said.
Ms. Ebanks adds that while the organisation will continue to lobby for changes in legislation, making it more supportive of safety needs of young novice drivers, MattSafe hopes to save lives by encouraging parents and teens to adopt policies and practices that will save lives in the interim.
MattSafe committee members include representatives from Government Information Services, the RCIP, the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman, the Education Department, the Triple C School, the Judiciary, the Cayman Islands Road Safety Advisory Council, the Cayman Islands Motocross Association and concerned community members. The Rotary Club of Grand Cayman has undertaken to sponsor the public information programme associated with MattSafe.
Programme funding will be drawn from donations to Matthew's Recovery Fund, initiated by GIS staffer Wosila Rochester shortly after Matthew's accident. Ms Rochester's suggestion also led to the re-channelling of those funds into the MattSafe programme. Persons who wish to contribute to MattSafe may make deposits directly into the account at Cayman National Bank. The account number is 012-19274.
For more information about MattSafe or the meeting, please call 244-1755.