AAPS: SkyWell Club invites community partners to annual expo to discuss safe driving habits with students

Story, video & photos by Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor

At Skyline High School’s SkyWell Club held its annual expo this week, students learned some practical safe driving tips and took a pledge to Drive Safely.

The pledge states:
1. I will speak up each time I ride with friends and feel unsafe.
2. I will wear my seat belt and have my passengers wear their seatbelt at all times.
3. I will limit distractions by not using electronics or other devices while driving.
4. I will obey all traffic laws, and drive appropriately for weather conditions.
5. I will not operate a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
6. I will drive safely for myself, my friends, my family and the safety of others.

The SkyWell Club began as an outreach of Skyline’s Health and Medicine Magnet, although membership at weekly meetings is open to all students.

This was the club’s 6^th annual wellness expo and the fourth Strive for a Safer Drive campaign with funding from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.

Besides the driving campaign expo, SkyWell also sponsors a springtime campaign around exercise; often a fund-raising walk; and an early fall campaign around another topic such as vaping, mental health, or sleep and stress.

“It just depends on what students are thinking and what they want to focus on,” said Dusti , “what they see as a health need in the teenage community.”

Students and staff signed the pledge between Dec. 4 and Feb. 12 and surpassed the goal of 1000 pledges this year by 79. Dexter High School also launched a safe driving campaign and they participated with SkyWell this year with 194 pledges.