Penna Powers launched Zero Fatalities parent night presentations as a pilot program back in 2011 with just three high schools. The presentations were so successful that schools across the state began asking for them and in 2013 Stacy Allen worked with the Utah State Board of Education to revamp the driver ed core curriculum to include a parent involvement component as the first standard.
These parent night presentations are an effective way to change behaviors at the personal level. Our research found that teens mirror their parents’ good and bad driving behaviors, so getting parents to examine their own habits during parent nights is an essential part of equipping teens to drive safely. Lastly, many parents do not adequately appreciate the risks their teen drivers face, which is another reason why we continued to expand the parent night presentations to as many high schools as possible.