Drive to Save Lives Tour Promotes Road Safety in West Virginia

The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) is currently conducting the “Drive to Save Lives Tour” across the state, bringing a message of traffic safety to high school students. The tour features speaker Cara Filler, who shares a personal story to emphasize the importance of safe driving choices.

The Importance of Safe Driving Choices

Cara Filler’s presentation centers around the tragic loss of her twin sister, who died in a car accident caused by a driver speeding at 100 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone. Filler emphasizes that such incidents are not simply “accidents” but rather the result of poor decisions. She stresses that a single different choice could have saved her sister’s life.

Four Key Choices for Road Safety

Filler outlines four crucial choices students can make to improve road safety:

• Avoid riding with bad drivers: This includes individuals who are overconfident, speed, or are impaired.
• Speak up for friends: Intervene if a friend is about to make a dangerous decision, such as driving under the influence. Filler suggests hiding car keys if necessary.
• Get out of the car: If a driver is making unsafe choices, students should remove themselves from the situation, even if it requires a lie to explain their exit. She recommends using the “Three P’s” to quickly prompt the driver to pull over.
• Call a parent for a ride: While not always popular, requesting a ride from a parent is a safer alternative to getting into a car with an unsafe driver.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Program

The “Drive to Save Lives Tour” is sponsored by the Huntington Regional Highway Safety Office and the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP). The WV GHSP is the lead agency for highway safety improvement measures in West Virginia, working to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on the state’s roadways. The tour is visiting several regional schools throughout March and April.

Cara Filler’s Message

Filler’s message is deeply personal, sharing that her sister’s death “took half of my heart.” Still, she chooses to channel her grief into advocating for safer driving practices. Cara Filler is recognized as a leading speaker on peer pressure, risk-taking, and traffic safety, and the founder of The Drive to Save Lives Tour.

Students at Ravenswood and Ripley High Schools recently heard Filler’s message, receiving inspiration, humor, sadness, honesty, and sound advice.