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WMU students ThinkFast about driving
ThinkFast Interactive provided an educational and fun assembly for junior high and high school WMU students
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WINFIELD — After two recent teen-driver related deaths in nearby towns New London and Ainsworth, Winfield-Mt. Union welcomed ThinkFast Interactive for an assembly focused on safe teen driving.
While WMU Principal Gaige Gill is usually reluctant to agree to additional activities that take students away from instructional time in the classroom, but after learning more about the program, he felt it was an opportunity WMU should not miss out on, especially following the recent deaths of high school students in teen-driving accidents.
“I think that made it easier to sell the why we’re doing it to teachers,” Gill said. “Because we’ve had two, really three local traffic related incidents. It is really sad. There was another one in La Porte City Union school district, so really four within two hours of Winfield-Mt. Union. So, I think everybody was on the same page that we wanted this for our students to try to educate them on some things.”
ThinkFast Interactive is a program designed to teach students about safe driving in a fun and interactive way tailored for specific age groups and regions. The ThinkFast website describes their program as one that encourages students to “be cool” with safety measures through peer engagement and rewards.
The programs put on by ThinkFast include informational slides filled with various facts and statistics about highway safety knowledge, interactive audience response questions, role-playing activity challenges, and custom educational videos.
WMU Junior Nick Sparrow was skeptical of having to attend yet another assembly and was not prepared to enjoy himself, but with the recent news of local tragedies and the high-energy presentation, he found himself engaged the whole time.
“We walked in and there was a DJ and they were playing music and everything,” Sparrow said. “And there was a guy in charge of things like hyping it up.”
“It was a fun activity for the kids,” Gill said. “I think they had fun while learning, and that is always nice.”
Sparrow, along with other WMU 8-12 grade students, were pleasantly surprised at the game-show-like program that gave them lots of information, kept them interested, and left them impacted.
“It didn’t feel like teaching how to stay safe driving, but it was more like a wake-up call to how many accidents there are and what the percentage of teens getting in those accidents and how to stay focused on driving,” Sparrow said.
Learning that the highest crash rates occur among teenagers stuck with Sparrow, including the fact that a driver’s highest chances to get in a car accident are during the first six months after getting their license.
According to the Center for Disease Control teen drivers are more likely to participate in risky driving behaviors like drinking and driving or riding with impaired drivers.
Gill was surprised when ThinkFast presented facts about drowsy driving being similar to driving intoxicated.
This group of young drivers also have a higher rate of accidents caused by distracted driving and cellphone use. A CDC study in 2020 reported 39% of teens admitted to texting or emailing while driving.
“A lot of the things they talked about, I think the students already knew or heard, but it brought it to light and brought an awareness,” Gill said. “With some of the local tragedies that are really sad, I think it probably hit home.”
Sparrow immediately changed some of his own driving behaviors after the assembly stating that he is now more intentional about avoiding distractions like skipping Spotify ads and keeping his eyes on the road.
“A little distraction like music can affect your focus,” Sparrow said. “When there are distractions like music and talking, you’re not as aware of your surroundings.”
Sparrow felt that the experience was worthwhile not only for him as a teen driver, but also for the younger students that will get their licenses in the next few years. Even with hesitation about taking away from instruction time, Gill is glad he agreed to this experience for his students.
“There are only so many school days and so many hours, but you know, when you can do something that you feel may make a little bit of a difference, I think it is worth it,” Gill said. “I think to bring back something similar every few years would be worth while.”
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
