A project by the Grey Bruce Health Unit is receiving provincial recognition.
The crash prevention project “Think and Drive…Are You Road Worthy?” has won the MTO’s 2009 Road Safety Achievement Award for Initiative of the Year.
The project was an initiative of the Health Unit’s Grey Bruce Motor Vehicle Crash Prevention Committee.
The group includes local police, OPP, MTO, Public Health, the insurance industry, a driving school, high school staff and students, and a parent who lost a son.
They hosted a seminar last May in Owen Sound aimed at getting local teens ready for the road while helping parents to take a more significant role in their teen’s driving.
It sent the message to both teens and parents that driving is not a right but a responsibility.
Committee Chair Denna Leach says collisions are the leading cause of death for 15 to 19 year olds in Grey Bruce, with the stats more than twice the provincial rate.
The “Think and Drive” project is now being used by Ottawa Public Health to implement a similar strategy in their region.
