Students Inspire Safer Community Through Drive With Care Program

Student leaders of Curie Metropolitan High School sent a personal message to Mayor Daley during the Active Trans Annual Member Meeting – help pass Illinois legislation HB 43, also known as the Must Stop for Pedestrians Bill.

More than 6,000 pedestrians are hit by cars in Illinois each year. These crashes lead to more than 1,000 serious pedestrian injuries and 170 pedestrian fatalities.

A pedestrian is killed every other day in Illinois (every week in Chicago) and a child pedestrian is killed every week.

Students and families at Curie High School have experienced firsthand the dangers that pedestrians face, as they described to Mayor Daley how their classmate William was struck this year while crossing the intersection of Archer and Pulaski.

These student leaders of Curie’s Forefront Class are doing more than just communicating their concerns – they are taking action to shape a new culture of driver and pedestrian safety throughout campus and the surrounding neighborhood.

The students are volunteering to lead a Drive with Care campaign, as part of Active Trans’ Drive with Care program. Working closely with Active Trans staff, the students are leading a peer-to-peer program that seeks to stigmatize reckless driving, by raising awareness on campus through educational outreach and collecting student pledges to adhere to principles of safe driving. Students are also examining street design concepts, transportation initiatives around school zones, and taking action to improve the safety of the Archer and Pulaski intersection.

Curie’s students are yet another example of the power of member and community involvement, and are demonstrating their commitment and passion to make their campus safer for drivers and pedestrians. Active Trans is proud of the commitment and accomplishments of these students, and judging by their enthusiasm and activism perhaps one or more of them will follow in Mayor Daley’s footsteps to become influential politicians themselves!

The Curie Forefront class continues their work to improve safety and increase awareness about the dangers of reckless driving at their high school and greater community. Get involved! Take the driver’s pledge at www.activetrans.org/drivewithcare/pledge and tell your legislators to support HB 43.