PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Young drivers between 14 and 24 years of age represent 17.3 percent of North Dakota's licensed drivers, but were involved in 35 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in 1995. In addition, the average blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for drivers in this age group involved in alcohol-related crashes in 1995 was .14 BAC, well above the state's legal limit.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Strides For Safety program, initiated in the state in 1996, is the reduction of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving by North Dakota youth. Achievement of this goal is sought through two objectives:

• To promote positive life choices for youth, such as buckling up, staying sober, and riding only with sober drivers
• To create a statewide coalition of youth which can be used as a springboard for local action on youth safety

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In 1996, the North Dakota Department of Transportation and a statewide nonprofit organization, the Center for Adolescent Development (CAD), teamed to address the problems arising from impaired driving and other traffic safety violations by youth. Operating within the framework of a long-standing, successful program developed by CAD (the Teen Institute), the Department of Transportation and CAD used the national "Strides for Safety" program to deliver and promote safety and injury prevention information for youth, their families, and their communities. The program made effective use of many strategies and activities to achieve the goal, including the following:

• CAD developed a Strides for Safety planning guide which would focus the type and level of activity that would be most successful for the state
• A statewide coalition of youth and adults was selected from past participants in the Teen Institute, to plan and lead the North Dakota effort
• The coalition elected to use the annual summer youth camps sponsored by CAD's Teen Institute as the focus for a series of events designed to raise awareness about traffic safety
• The Strides for Safety program was initiated by a "kickoff" during the 1996 youth camp, hosted by the Valley City State University. The event received much media coverage, and featured activities such as a youth rally, a three-mile "Strides" walk, classes on traffic safety, and the signing of "pledge cards" to buckle up, stay sober, and only ride with sober drivers

RESULTS The Strides for Safety program has been conducted for the past two years during the Teen Institute summer camps. Following the end of the summer camps, the youth participants have returned to their communities armed with ideas for activities that have been replicated in more than 50 communities throughout North Dakota. The result of the Strides for Safety program is most evident in the reports and observations from around the state, showing an increase in awareness of the importance of youth traffic safety.

FUNDING   Section 402: $34,000 CONTACT     Dawn Olson Drivers License and Traffic Safety Division North Dakota Department of Transportation 608 East Boulevard Avenue Bismarck, ND 58505-0700 (701) 328–4434