Press Release - 12-01-2016

DMV News

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Thursday, December 1, 2016

 

Contacts: 
Joe Morrissey             [email protected]       
Rich Meddaugh          [email protected]

 

SURVIVOR ADVOCATES TOUCH THE LIVES OF NEARLY 27,000 YOUNG DRIVERS STATEWIDE
Speakers Use Personal Experiences to Make Young Motorists Aware of Consequences of Dangerous Driving Behaviors

 

Recent reports show that while much progress has been made in reducing teen driver-involved traffic crashes and deaths over the past decade, teen drivers are still 1.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than an adult, and teen crash deaths spiked 10 percent in 2015. While there is still more work to be done, data also shows that programs focusing on teen driving behavior have been successful in helping younger drivers be safer on the roads. National Safety Council Survivor Advocates, supported by the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC), directly reached nearly 27,000 audience members, mostly teens and young adults, in presentations at schools and other venues statewide over the past year. The advocates use their personal experiences of traffic safety-related tragedies and the impact of those experiences on their lives to promote highway safety.

“Each year, thousands of young and adult drivers are learning about traffic safety through the personal experiences of these courageous and inspiring speakers, who have suffered tragedy, persevered and now share their stories to help reduce deaths and injuries on our highways,” said DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner and Acting GTSC Chair Terri Egan. “I commend these dedicated individuals for their efforts to promote traffic safety and the GTSC for providing this resource to schools and other organizations statewide.”

The program, funded by an annual GTSC grant to the National Safety Council, was launched during the 2011-12 federal fiscal year with one speaker, Jacy Good. That year, a total of 15,790 people attended Good’s presentations and heard her personal story about tragedy caused by distracted driving. During the 2014-15 fiscal year, two more speakers, Karen Torres and Marianne Angelillo, were added to the Survivor Advocate program and the audience grew to 21,140. A total of 26,790 audience members were reached in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2016.

Combined, the three traffic safety advocates make an average of 100 presentations a year, sharing personal stories that drive home the point that traffic-related tragedies can happen at any time to anyone and affect families across New York State every day. Like Good, Torres discusses her personal loss caused by a distracted driver, while Angelillo’s story is of the tragic consequences of speeding and impaired driving.

Jacy Good

Jacy Good lost her parents and suffered serious injuries in 2008, when they were returning home from her college graduation in Pennsylvania and a young man talking on a cell phone ran a red light, causing a tractor trailer to hit their car head-on. Despite being given only a 10-percent chance of survival, Good recovered from internal injuries and multiple fractures but still struggles with the lingering effects of a traumatic brain injury.

Good has since become a tireless advocate for preventing distracted driving. She has shared her story with thousands of people and has addressed Congress and the United Nations. She joined the GTSC victims’ advocate program in 2012, urging students throughout the state to avoid distractions behind the wheel.  An emotional video launched in August, featuring Good speaking with young people about the dangers of distracted driving, has already received more than 1.5 million views on YouTube.  “I didn’t have my daddy to walk me down the aisle when I got married,” she tells a visibly shaken student in the video. 

Karen Torres

Karen Torres lost her father to a distracted driver in March of 2006. Patrick Mapleson was working as a member of a New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) road crew when he was struck and killed on Long Island’s Sunrise Highway.

Torres turned that personal tragedy into a mission of sharing her story with as many people as possible to help deter distracted driving and save lives. She has spoken at high schools, driver education classes, peer leadership programs, church groups, rotary clubs and corporate organizations, and in July 2013 she joined Governor Andrew Cuomo to speak at a “No Texting While Driving” press conference. Torres has also participated in the DOT’s statewide roadway safety campaign.

Marianne Angelillo

Marianne Angelillo’s call to advocacy came in 2004, when her 17-year-old son, Matthew, a popular honor student and athlete, was killed as a passenger in a high-speed car crash in which the driver was impaired. Since then, she has shared her story at school presentations and with traffic safety groups, hoping to spare other families from similar tragedy.  She has also joined GTSC at a number of press conferences and public events, most recently at events promoting the “Coaches Care” and “No Empty Chair” initiatives. 

Angelillo has authored a book about her family’s experiences titled “Sharing My Stones.” She, like Good, actively participates in Victim Impact Panels, and her advocacy efforts have been recognized by several state agencies.

The speakers program has garnered praise from both educators and students who have attended presentations. GTSC provides a link on its Younger Driver Toolkit website for school officials to request such speakers to participate at events statewide throughout the year.

For more information about traffic safety programs across New York, visit the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee web site.

 

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