Wiregrass Ranch High School’s SADD (Student Against Destructive Decisions) Club consists of students working towards helping other students better themselves and their community. They aim to prevent accidents from students making potentially harmful decisions.

National Teen Driver Safety Week was Oct. 17-23. The Wiregrass SADD club planned a full week of activities to bring awareness to this week and to prevent accidents on the road.

“We [SADD Club] have a philosophy that if we just reach one person, then that is a success because then they will reach another person,” SADD club sponsor, Avery Walker, explained. “Having these positive promotion weeks affects the school environment and the community around us for the better.”

On Tuesday, students in PE walked or ran a mile to bring recognition to teen driver safety as well as bike/pedestrian safety month. The first 30 people to finish their mile received a medal and t-shirt.

During lunch on Wednesday, students signed a banner pledging to be a safe driver. All students that signed the banner received a safe driver t-shirt to wear Friday. Freshman and SADD club member Haley Sanders signed the banner.

“I think it’s very important for teens to learn the effects of unsafe driving,” Sanders said. “If we can get more students to understand these effects, then I think we are doing our job as an organization.”

Students were also shown a video on Wednesday during WIN periods about what to keep in their car. Some recommended items were: the vehicle license & registration, a first aid kit, and a phone charger.

On Thursday, teen driver safety slap bracelets were handed out throughout the school day. Students wore the bracelets to help promote safe driving. In addition, after school, SADD members handed out bike lights to bike riders.

On Friday, the last day of Teen Driver Safety Week, students were asked to wear the shirts they received when they signed the pledge to be safe driver. Students were also shown a video during WIN periods about what to do if ever pulled over by a police officer.

Shaina Finkel, SADD National president and WRHS club president, thought the week was successful in terms of raising awareness.

“I think the most effective thing we did this week was having students sign the pledge banner pledging to be a safe teen driver,” Finkel explained. “My goal is to reach at least one person. If one person learns from those videos and changes their bad driving habits, that is most definitely a win for us.”

Continuing to inform students on the importance of positive decisions, SADD will be participating in Red Ribbon Week next week, which aims to prevent the use of drugs and alcohol.