Prepare yourself and teens for winter driving
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- Keep your fuel tank at least half-full. This will help prevent fuel lines from freezing, and provide necessary fuel should you become stranded.
- Ensure tires have good tread/traction and are properly inflated.
- Ensure that your battery, anti-freeze and cooling system are in good condition.
- Replace worn windshield wipers. Have adequate washer fluid.
- Make sure that headlights and other vehicle lights are operating properly.
- Before driving, clear snow and ice from your vehicle’s windows, front and rear lights, hood and roof.
WisDOT also recommends having an
emergency kit
in the car that contains: blankets, extra hats/gloves, flashlight with extra batteries, first-aid kit, jumper cables, windshield brush/scraper, water, non-perishable food (trail mix, energy/protein bars), sand or cat litter for traction and a cell phone charger.
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November Trunk Junk campaign kits help teens prepare
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Thank you to everyone who signed up for our Trunk Junk campaign, and thank you to State Farm for partnering with us for this fun event that also teaches an important lesson about safety. The goal of this campaign is to help student drivers clean out their trunks and back seats, replace and check safety equipment and review winter driving tips. We can’t wait to hear about the crazy items found in the trunks of students’ cars and see some awesome trunk transformations! Please email photos to
Carissa Hoium
and share them on your social media channels (#CrossroadsTeenDriving).
Full and mini kits Trunk Junk campaign kits are still available for Wisconsin schools to order. Sign up to receive yours today! (Kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.)
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The end of Daylight Savings = time to check headlights
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Winter in Wisconsin brings longer nights and snow, which means our headlights are getting more use! Take time to walk around your vehicle to check that:
- your headlights and taillights are working.
- all lights are free of snow, ice and slush.
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Community Maps: Public Crash Data
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Did you know that you have free access to Wisconsin crash data?
Community Maps
provides a statewide map of all police- reported motor vehicle crashes from 2010 to the current year. Fatal crashes are included from 2001.The Community Maps system was designed to support and enhance traffic safety and can be especially helpful when drilling down traffic safety issues in a particular county, city or even neighborhood. Click on “Enter Community Maps” and select the desired filters to obtain the data you are interested in. You can search by county, date range, crash severity and particular flags (e.g., if alcohol was involved, if a motorcycle was involved, if a deer was involved, etc.).
Community Maps is hosted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by the Wisconsin Traffic Operations and Safety (TOPS) Laboratory in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Bureau of Transportation Safety (BOTS).
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Upcoming Conferences and Meetings
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Injury Free Coalition for Kids Annual Conference
Crossroads Teen Driving is excited to be presenting a session titled “Improving Graduated Driver Licensing in Wisconsin” at the Injury Free Coalition for Kids 2018 Annual Conference this December in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The
Injury Free Coalition for Kids
is among the country's most effective injury prevention programs. It is a national program developed with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation comprised of hospital-based, community-oriented programs whose efforts are anchored in research, education and advocacy. Currently, the Coalition includes more than 30 sites located in just as many cities across the nation. We are excited to share our experiences and learn from the successes of others!
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Teen Driving Safety Collaborative Meeting November 27
Crossroads is starting a new teen driving safety community at the state level, comprised of people from a variety of agencies and groups. We will be working to develop this group’s membership and to define goals, objectives and a meeting schedule. You are invited to attend the first phone meeting
9:30 a.m. November 27. Please use the following number to access the call: (855) 263-0251 followed by 74711.
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Project Yellow Light
is a scholarship competition designed to bring about change. As an applicant you have one clear mission: encourage your peers to develop and embrace safe driving habits.
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Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and the National Road Safety Foundation host the Dangers in the Dark contest. Create a short video sharing your ideas for PSA on the dangers of driving at night.
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Toyota challenges kids to drive distraction-free. Teens can create a PSA on the dangers of distracted driving to win prizes of up to $15,000.
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For more information about Crossroads Teen Driving, contact Carissa Hoium,
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