Keeping Drivers Alert, ECHS, Committees,Traffic Engineering, NCDOT

Conduct Education and Awareness Campaigns to Increase Younger Drivers' Awareness of the Risks of Distracted Driving
Description:	This strategy focuses on educating young drivers and teens (ages 13-18) who are approaching the driving age of the risks involved with distracted driving. The intent is to target teens with a long-term, multi-faceted educational program to make them aware of the dangers involved in distracted driving and to eventually make it as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving.
Group Lead:	Joe Geigle, Federal Highway Administration
ECHS Approval:	January 26, 2005
Host Agency:	UNC Highway Safety Research Center and NCDOT Public Information Office
Agency Contact:	Doug Robertson - UNC HSRC and Jessica Jones - NCDOT PIO
Notes:	The working group has held 6 focus group meetings utilizing Governor's pages between the ages of 13-18 to discuss the issue of distractions and teen drivers. Each session engaged the teens in an hour-long discussion of distracted driving, teen driving behavior and appropriate messaging to reach a teen audience in a public relations campaign. Presently, the group is working with a public relations campaign class (Fall Semester 05) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This class has adopted this strategy as their semester class project and will be developing appropriate campaigns to reach teen drivers to educate them about the dangers of distracted driving.
Status:	In progress.

DMV Handbook Revisions
Description:	This strategy focuses making revisions to the present Driver's Handbook to include information on distracted and drowsy driving and the associated risk. As a part of this inclusion, test questions should also be added to the pool of potential question about these two issues.
Group Lead:	Tom Crosby, AAA of the Carolinas
ECHS Approval:	February 8, 2006
Host Agency:	KDA Working Group
Agency Contact:	Tom Crosby
Notes:
Status:	Will be pending the next revision and printing of the DMV Drivers Handbook. The KDA Working Group will take the lead on drafting the appropriate text and coordinating this with DMV. DMV will be able to update the electronic version of the Handbook available on line sooner than the print version.

Hotel Discounts for Drowsy Drivers
Description:	This strategy seeks to provide a respite hotel for drowsy drivers at discounted rates after a set time of night to encourage them to get a good night's rest rather than continue to drive while sleepy or tired.
Group Lead:	Tom Crosby, AAA of the Carolinas
ECHS Approval:	October 24, 2006
Host Agency:	KDA Working Group
Agency Contact:	Tom Crosby
Notes:
Status:	In progress - Discussions are on going with the hotel industry.
Evaluation:	Awaiting sufficient data

Conduct Education and Awareness Campaigns to Increase Drivers' Awareness of the Risks of Drowsy Driving
Description:	This strategy focuses on educating drivers (with an emphasis on ages 16-29) of the risks involved with drowsy driving. The intent is to target this group with a long-term, multi-faceted educational program to make them aware of the dangers involved in drowsy driving and to eventually make it as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving
Group Lead:	Tom Crosby, AAA of the Carolinas
ECHS Approval:	N/A
Host Agency:	N/A
Agency Contact:	N/A
Notes:
Status:	In draft mode - Work Group discussions are continuing.