New safe-driving campaign by the International Forgiveness Institute uses psychological principles developed in forgiveness education research to save lives.

MADISON, WI, US, April 26, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Madison, WI – A Wisconsin non-profit organization that has spent the past 25 years developing scientifically-tested Forgiveness intervention materials used in countries around the world, has decided to expand its focus to use those same principles in saving lives on the roads and highways.

DRIVE FOR OTHERS' LIVES is a public awareness campaign created by the International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) and announced today by its co-founder Dr. Robert Enright, a UW-Madison psychology professor who has gained international recognition for his work.

According to Dr. Enright, the “tested and proven-to-work” Forgiveness Education principles he and his colleagues have developed since establishing the IFI in 1994, are the same principles that can be used to develop pro-social behaviors that will help save the lives of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians using America’s highways and roads.

“Distracted driving is a public health issue that affects every single one of us in this country and more needs to be done to reduce the tragic numbers,” Dr. Enright says. “It won’t be easy, just as forgiving someone who has harmed you isn’t necessarily easy, but we believe that traffic fatalities are 100 percent preventable.”

The latest statistics, released in February by the National Safety Council (NSC), show motor vehicle fatalities increased 6 percent during 2016. The 2016 total of more than 40,200 traffic deaths comes after a 7 percent rise in 2015 and means the two-year increase — 14 percent — is the largest in more than half a century.

“Why are we as a society not outraged with numbers like that?” Dr. Enright asks. “One of the most important concepts we teach in our Forgiveness classes is that every person has inherent worth, so we need to apply that to everyone we share the road with and ‘DRIVE FOR OTHERS’ LIVES’ as our bumper sticker says.”

According to Dr. Enright, the IFI’s safe-driving campaign will initially focus on the United States and then expand globally to include:

♦ A safe-driving public information crusade that will employ public service announcements (radio ads like those the IFI has used successfully during the past few years to create a growing awareness about the importance of forgiveness; media alerts, Driving Facts & Figures materials, and newsletters targeting especially-vulnerable younger drivers).

♦ A major expansion of the IFI website to include a plethora of safe-driving information that the organization has assembled (and continues to gather) from more than 40 public, private, and non-profit traffic safety organizations--a collection of useful data and guidance which can all be accessed at no cost from the IFI’s website (www.internationalforgiveness.com).

♦ A multi-disciplined team approach to developing--and recommending implementation of--new safe-driving awareness activities based on the results of the latest psychological testing (as well as testing the IFI will initiate on this issue in the future).

♦ Free distribution of a professionally-designed and printed vehicle bumper sticker "DRIVE FOR OTHERS' LIVES" (actual size: 11.5" x 3"). The sticker has a glossy finish that will resist damage from the sun and the elements for years while the removable adhesive backing will not leave any residue on the surface where it is affixed.

Most importantly, Dr. Enright emphasizes, the bumper sticker will alert everyone who sees it to remember that safe driving practices are for everyone--because every person is special, unique, and irreplaceable, possessing inherent worth.

“A single life lost to a traffic crash is one life too many because it will mark the end of that person's tremendous potential and the gifts that he or she could otherwise share with family members, our communities, and our world,” Dr. Enright adds. “This campaign is based on one simple purpose -- to save lives.”

The bumper sticker campaign will be led by Jacqueline Song, an IFI principal researcher who is from the Philippines. Her interest in encouraging more civility on the road started when she, as a pedestrian, was hit by a drunk driver.

According to Song, the IFI has received a project donation that enables the organization to provide two free stickers per address until the funds are exhausted. Requests for the DRIVE FOR OTHERS' LIVES bumper sticker can be made on the IFI's website or be emailed to the IFI at: internationalforgiveness@gmail.com.

Dr. Robert Enright
International Forgiveness Institute
+1 608-222-0241
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