Folks,
The Tennessee Department of Safety and the two AAA clubs in Tennessee (AAA Auto
Club South and AAA East Tennessee) have agreed to work together to get the word
out about the new graduated driver license law which goes into effect July 1, 2001. Like
all laws GDL does have some teeth, but much of the good it will do will depend on
voluntary compliance. So, DoS and AAA want to take some steps to increase
understanding, acceptance and compliance with the new law.
In our discussions we agreed to see if there might be an agency or other
entity which would, pro bono, help our effort. Some of the things we feel need to be
done:
o determine attitudes and knowlege of teens and their parents about the law
o come up with a consistent message(s)
o suggest media to use
o perhaps create a better name than "graduated driver license"
Obviously we're very new in the process and details will emerge along the way.
The intended audience for this "little" project is about 42,000 families of teens about to
get their learner's permit. How much work will actually be involved, of course, will
depend on how we define the details mentioned above.
However, a firm helping with this would have the benefit of statewide exposure, contact
with commissioner-level state government, and the eternal gratitude of a bunch of folks.
If you're not familiar with it, GDL sets up a staged license process for young drivers.
Each stage provides protective measures and prerequisites designed to move the
new driver gradually into progressively more dangerous driving environments. At the
same time the law requires 50 hours supervised practice, 10 of them at night.
The law passed this year after years of delay. AAA has been very active in each of
those years lobbying for passage. GDL in each of the 50 states is a national goal of
AAA.
In brief that's the request. Any ideas who might be interested?
This e-mail may have created more questions than it answered, so please feel free to
holler at me anytime. The phone number here is 637-1910 x3723 or 1-800-234-1222 x3723, e-mail
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Thanks very much for taking the time to look this over!
Sincerely,
Don Lindsey
Director, Public Affairs
AAA East Tennessee
Box 1107
100 W Fifth Avenue
Knoxville 37901
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