Group talks about giving voice to passengers

JACKSON, Tenn. — Have you have ever found yourself in a ride that made you uncomfortable with the drive?

Passengers all over the United States have gained resources on how to use their voice and be empowered thanks to the National Passenger Safety Week that is coming up.

“What we want to do is encourage passengers to speak up, speak out, say something to the driver or not get in the car if they feel it all threatened,” said Candace Lightner, the founder and CEO of We Save Lives.

The week was launched in January of 2021 by the We Save Lives and the National Road Safety Foundation.

The campaign was able to have 50 organizations join last year, and this year they have more than 60, according to Lightner. They all share the goal of reducing crashes and understand the power of the passengers.

The passion behind the campaign comes from the desire to save as many lives as possible. And Lightner shared one story of a friend.

“Her daughter, who was cycling, her daughter was 28, and the Iowa State Patrol estimated that he spent a minimum of 9.5 seconds checking his Facebook messages. Nine point five seconds ended this child’s life and destroyed a family,” Lightner said.

The education and resources are not just for teenagers and adults, but they are for everyone.

Even though it may be a difficult situation for children, Lightner shared advice kids can use as well.

“Someone is driving erratically, and impaired drunk, or drugged, they really should say something. They should go ahead and say, you know, ‘You’re driving, you’re scaring me. You’re really scaring me. Can you pull over? You know, can we take a taxi? Can you pull over because you’re really scaring me, and I don’t feel safe and I need to feel safe,'” Lightner said.

January 22 until January 29 will host the National Passenger Safety Week will be from January 22 to January 29.

You are encouraged to share the message, as you may be the one to save a life.

You can find more national news here.