Safe driving program empowers students to share life-saving traffic safety messages

Michigan is giving its high school students statewide a chance to make a difference in their communities and help their fellow teens become better drivers by participating in this year’s Strive for a Safer Drive (S4SD) campaign. 

S4SD is a joint effort in its 11th year between the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning and Ford Motor Company Fund. The goal of the campaign is to reduce the leading cause of death for teens: traffic crashes. In 2020, teens and young adults age 15 to 20 accounted for 7.3% (79) of all traffic deaths in Michigan, with 51.9% (41) of those deaths being the driver.

The S4SD campaign encourages teens to talk to other teens and community members about making safe driving choices. Schools will develop and implement a student-led, peer-to-peer traffic safety awareness campaign. Campaign topics may include speeding, seat belts, pedestrian, bicyclist and passenger safety as well as impaired, distracted, night-time and winter driving.

Schools who participate each receive $1,000 to conduct their campaign. Once the projects are completed, student teams at each school will submit a video or PowerPoint outlining their campaign. Schools with the top-five winning campaigns will receive cash prizes ranging from $500 to $1,500.

Since the 2011 creation of S4SD, 173 different Michigan high schools have participated in the program. The OHSP has partnered with the Transportation Improvement Association to coordinate activities of the S4SD program. For more information about S4SD, visit Michigan.gov/S4SD.