An event for teen drivers is encouraging young motorists to take the wheel in reducing the number of automobile crashes among their inexperienced peers.
The annual two-day FOCUS event is hosted by the Trauma Center at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah. It’s being held in partnership with the Regional Safe Routes to School, with funding from the ThedaCare Foundation-Neenah and community support.
The FOCUS event is designed to help students make safe choices by shedding light on the dangers of risky driving behaviors and their often life-changing outcomes. FOCUS stands for:
- Focus on driving
- Others are affected
- Clear distractions
- Understand substances impair judgement
- Safely reach your destination
The FOCUS event will be held on October 15 and 16 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, 400 West College Ave., Appleton. More than 30 schools and an estimated 4,600 students are expected to be represented.
Previously known as the P.A.R.T.Y. at the PAC, the event has served area students for more than two decades. It is a collaborative effort between area schools, local firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical technicians, health care workers and crash survivors who volunteer to share their stories.
The event typically highlights for students the process of a trauma situation, what it is like to be airlifted and to need emergency surgery after a vehicular crash. More than 100,000 students have participated in the program since its inception.
“We have a great opportunity through the FOCUS event to reinforce for our young drivers the behaviors that may help reduce their chances of a crash,” said Dr. David Schultz, a General Surgeon and Medical Director of ThedaCare’s Level II Trauma Center. “Therein lies the value of the FOCUS program. It helps us do this by highlighting positive driving habits and the dangers of some risky habits – distracted driving, speeding, not using seatbelts – among our area’s high schoolers.”
This year, the program offers a parent presentation to complement the main FOCUS event for students. It will feature information on common teen driving hazards, guidelines and tools parents and caregivers can use to help coach teens in their early driving stages and information about the Graduated Driver License.
“With an added emphasis this year on parent support for the program, we expect FOCUS to have a lasting impact as young and not-so-young participants come away better educated about safe driving,” Dr. Schultz said. “We are working to help save lives and prevent injury to the youth in our communities through this high-energy, high-impact, interactive program.”
According to the Wisconsin State Department of Transportation, only 6% of all Wisconsin-licensed drivers are ages 16-19, but drivers in this age group account for 16% of all drivers involved in crashes.
That’s why the FOCUS program is important, Dr. Schultz said.
“We want our young drivers to understand the social contract they sign when they are registered as motorists. We want them to internalize this: getting behind the wheel means they have a responsibility to protect themselves and others,” he said. “If we can save one life as the result of the FOCUS program, it would have been worth it.”
