GDL Toolkit | Encourage | Educate | Engage

I’m ready to Engage my audience!

The resources in this section, which may be reproduced and promoted without permission, are designed not only to provide your audience with a comprehensive understanding of New Jersey’s GDL program, but help them put what they learn into practice on a daily basis. These resources are designed to be used by you, some following completion of training, to facilitate group learning, discussion and action.

Share the Keys

This parent/teen safe driving orientation that is designed to reduce teen driver crash risks by increasing parental involvement. Approximately 90 minutes in length, the orientation is presented by facilitators in community based settings (i.e. schools, libraries) and can be linked to parking permit requirements, classroom driver education programs and back-to-school nights. The orientation is ideally suited for parents and their teens in the pre-permit or permit state of licensure (parents and their teens already holding a probationary license will also benefit).

• Program Description -NEW- Provides an overview of the program and how to become a facilitator
• Resource Guide -NEW- Introduced in the orientation, this 24-page booklet presents research, helpful advice and contacts that support parental involvement and safe driving behaviors.
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Alive at 25 Program

This facilitated National Safety Council program includes a parent orientation and a 4-hour peer-to-peer education segment for teens. Both address GDL and the risks for teens, but the latter engages teens in discussing safe and unsafe behaviors and what they can do to protect themselves. Training is required to deliver this program or you may schedule a presentation by a trained instructor.

• Best practice: Participate in an instructor training program sponsored by the New State Safety Council or partner with the organization to host a mandatory orientation at your high school for freshman and/or sophomore parents. Facilitate the teen segment during freshman health and/or sophomore driver education and tie participation in the program to advancement from one grade to the next, successful completion of classroom driver education (typically in the sophomore year), or on-campus parking privileges in the junior/senior year (attendance can be noted in the student’s high school record).
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Randolph Traffic Advisory Committee Parent/Teen Orientation

This 60-90 minute, facilitated program, developed and led by community volunteers in Randolph (Morris County, NJ), includes a parent/teen orientation (with PowerPoint slides and notes) based on research conducted by the National Safety Council and other sources. Participants learn about NJ’s GDL, teen crash risk, and enforcement from the perspective of parents, advocates, police, and the municipal court judge.

• Best practice: Review the “how to guide” to learn about implementing a mandatory parent/teen orientation program at your local high school following the model developed by the Randolph TAC.
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Driven to Distraction

This dramatic and graphic, 4-minute web-based video, produced by police in Wales, depicts four deaths caused by a young female driver who was texting while driving. (It can be used in conjunction with the Randolph Traffic Advisory Committee Parent/Teen Orientation.)

• Best practice: Screen the video (be sure to alert your audience that it contains graphic content) in conjunction with a parent/teen orientation or teen safe driving information session. Develop discussion questions to engage the audience in talking about the dangers of distracted driving and what they can and should do about it.
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Parent-Teen Safe Driving Agreement

This sample parent-teen safe driving agreement helps establish rules and consequences for teens, but also places responsibilities on parents. Safe driving generally requires much more than what state laws call for, and signing an agreement before a teen starts driving can be helpful in establishing expectations for the whole family.

• Best practice: Distribute this sample agreement at a back-to-school night or teen driving information booth and/or ask your local high school driver education teacher to post it on the school web site with instructions to students to print it out and discuss it with their parents as a homework assignment.
• For more information: Contact Us

Parent-Parent Safe Driving Agreement

This sample parent to parent agreement fosters communication among teens’ parents so there is consistency in the rules and consequences for teens and their friends. Additionally, it is a helpful tool for teens with divorced parents who may have differing viewpoints and philosophies regarding their teens’ driving practices and adherence to both state laws and parental rules.

• Best practice: Distribute this sample agreement at a back-to-school night or parent/teen orientation. Write an op-ed for your local community newspaper discussing the importance of teens’ parents working together to understand and enforce the GDL law, and ask the editor to print a copy of the sample agreement with your editorial.
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Say Yes to Life Contract

This contract is designed to empower teens to make personal safety their priority when dealing with peer pressure. While parents may think their teens will confront their friends about risky behaviors and attitudes that negatively impact safety, research conducted by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (after which this contract is modeled) shows that’s highly unlikely. The contract prompts teens, in partnership with their parents, to identify a code word they can use to alert their parents when they need help getting home safely. In return, parents provide that help in a non-judgmental manner.

• Best practice: Distribute this contract at a parent/teen orientation and include a role play exercise involving a parent and teen that illustrates its use. Work with your local SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) chapter and/or Boy and Girl Scout troops to introduce and distribute the contract.
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So Your Teen Wants a Car?

This brochure provides important information -- safety features and ratings, insurance, maintenance -- parents should consider when purchasing a vehicle for their teens.

• Best practice: Share this information with your local car dealerships to ensure their sales staff are well-versed in working with parents and teens on appropriate vehicle selection for novice drivers. Briefly discuss vehicle selection during a parent/teen orientation and include a link to the brochure in your materials.
• For more information: Contact Us