Program promotes 'Street Smart' resiliency

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class James Hensley
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  "Click it or ticket." "Drive sober or get pulled over."

These familiar sayings are what Street Smart Resiliency is all about.

"Street Smart Resiliency is a standalone program for traffic safety education," said Ben Bruce, 56th Fighter Wing ground safety manager. "The program was started in Florida by a group called Stay Alive From Education. SAFE receives grant money from Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Budweiser to promote highway safety."

Unlike the typical PowerPoint or lecture presentations, Street Smart gets the message across in a captivating way presented by trained paramedics.

"The presentation is divided into two parts," Bruce said. "The first part, the presenters discuss the importance of seatbelt safety and the dangers of drunken driving. They show graphic images from car accidents where victims had not used seatbelts or had driven under the influence.

The second part of the presentation is more interactive where volunteers are asked to play victims of accidents that occurred from not following safe driving practices, and paramedics act out the necessary treatment for their injuries."

The SAFE instructors address some of the biggest issues they see that have been the cause of accidents. Their target audience is not just the Airmen that live on base but everyone who drives.

"The biggest threat we see out there is distracted driving," Bruce said. "It's not just a problem for people on base but for people in the state as well. Texting and talking on the phone is just as bad as drinking and driving. Having hands-free devices does not solve the issue either because the brain still gets involved with whatever the conversation is and it misses some visual cues on the road. The Street Smart presenters address these issues in a really good way."

The goal of the SAFE instructors is to get the message to drivers and passengers about staying safe.

"We just want people to know the facts about safe driving," said Vince Easevoli, SAFE instructor. "We talk about the options people have, especially in the Air Force with the wingman concept. We also want people to know what the consequences are for poor choices. As paramedics, we see all the results of poor choices, and they usually are related to drinking, drugs or cell phone use while driving."

The Street Smart program reaches out to bases stateside and overseas. The SAFE instructors pass along safety tips for Airmen to follow, but it's up to them to take responsibility for their actions.