Brake 4 Life
A Teen Driving Safety Initiative of Buckle Up Appalachia
Serving schools and student groups in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia
Evidence-based instruction and hands-on activities
Customizable workshop length to fit your schedule
Grant-funded program with no cost to those we serve
Visit Our Safe Driving Resource Hub
WHY Brake 4 Life?
Losing a friend in a car crash is every teen’s worst nightmare—and it happens more often than you’d think. Car accidents are historically the #1 cause of death for teens in the U.S.
Right here at home, the numbers are scary too. In 2025, Sullivan County ranked 10th in Tennessee for teen crashes. Just over the state line in Bristol, Virginia, 61 teen drivers were involved in a crash in 2025.
That’s why Buckle Up Appalachia created BRAKE 4 LIFE. We bring workshops to local high schools to show the real dangers of distracted driving, drowsy driving, speeding and more. Keep reading to see how you can help make teen driving safer for you and your friends.
What happens in our workshops?
Impact Teen Drivers Presentation
Fatal Vision® Goggles Activities
Just Drive Virtual Reality Simulation
Let’s Break it Down
Impact Teen Drivers Presentation
Presentation & Discussion
The presentation portion of our workshop focuses on what students told us matters most to them: real stories about real teen drivers. We share powerful testimonials from teens and families whose lives have been changed by a moment of distraction or a risky choice.
Our workshop facilitators use materials developed by Impact Teen Drivers. These materials provide teenagers with evidence-based strategies to keep themselves and others safe behind the wheel.
Fatal Vision® Goggles Activities
Hands-On Activities
See firsthand how dangerous impaired driving can be — within the safety of the classroom. Our Fatal Vision® Drowsy and Distracted Goggles imitate three types of driving impairment:
- Distracted Dialing: See what really happens when you take your eyes off the road for a moment to make a phone call, with the goggles blacking out every three seconds.
- Texting and Driving: These simulate the dangerous 4.6-second blackout that occurs when you look down to read or send a text.
- Drowsy Driving: Watch the effects of microsleeps, those tiny moments when your brain and eyes shut down for a few seconds, with the goggles blacking out for progressively longer periods.
"Just Drive" Virtual Reality Simulation
Experience Distracted-Driving Scenarios and Recognize Your Power to Make a Difference
We’re excited to add the Just Drive Simulator to our Brake 4 Life workshops. This virtual reality program was developed by The Kiefer Foundation to demonstrate the real-world consequences of distracted driving without the real-world risk.
In our workshops, students have the opportunity to wear the Just Drive Simulator, choose a driving scenario, and reflect on the impact of their choices as a driver or passenger.
Invite Us to Your School!
What can you do to reduce teen crashes and save lives? We’ve got the program — we’re just waiting for you to invite us!
Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, student, or parent, we’d love to hear from you. Please fill out our BRAKE 4 Life Workshop Interest Form, and we’ll be in touch soon!
Request a BRAKE 4 LIFE Workshop
Partnerships
BRAKE 4 LIFE workshops in northeast Tennessee are made possible by a generous grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.
BRAKE 4 LIFE’S SAFE DRIVING RESOURCE HUB
Whether you’re a student, parent or caregiver, or educator, we want you to have the best resources available for road safety.
Resources for Students
TN Teen Driver Safety Resources
Knowing the rules keeps you safe and keeps you driving. Check out this quick breakdown of Tennessee’s official Graduated Driver License (GDL) Laws, curfew limits, cell phone use bans, and passenger restrictions for permit holders and intermediate drivers.
YOVASO: Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety
Take the wheel on making your school’s roads safer. YOVASO is a statewide, student-led movement that empowers high school and middle school teens to lead the charge against distracted driving, speeding, and unbuckled seat belts. Join or start a YOVASO chapter at your school to run interactive campus campaigns, jump into state competitions, attend summer leadership retreats, and gain real community leadership experience.
Ford Driving Skills for Life
Going beyond standard driver’s ed, this hands-on program helps newly licensed teens master real-world hazard recognition, vehicle handling, and speed management through interactive clinics and virtual training.
Impact Teen Drivers
Instead of relying on graphic scare tactics, this interactive hub uses real-life stories, engaging quizzes, and peer-to-peer tools to help you understand how split-second choices behind the wheel impact your future. Brake 4 Life brings these interactive Impact Teen Drivers workshops directly to local high schools! Ask your teacher or principal about scheduling a presentation for your school.
Just Drive Virtual Reality Simulation
Put on a Meta Quest headset and experience the direct, real-world consequences of distracted driving without the real-world danger. The headset presents several high-risk scenarios including daytime highway, nighttime rural, and school drop-off. Experience the power of taking control as a passenger, and take the pledge to protect your friends. Brake 4 Life now offers the Just Drive VR simulation in our school workshops!
Resources for Parents & Caregivers
DriveItHOME
Developed by the National Safety Council, this digital hub offers parents a treasure trove of quick weekly practice tips, driving lessons, and expert video guides to help you coach your teen through their most dangerous first year behind the wheel. Choose from a downloadable app or browser-based portal.
TN Traffic Safety: Graduated Drivers License (GDL) Law Breakdown
Navigating Tennessee’s multi-tiered licensing process can be confusing. This official state resource clarifies exactly what is required for your teen’s Learner Permit and Intermediate Licenses—including passenger limits, curfews, and how to properly log their 50 hours of supervised driving time.
Checkpoints Program (Parent/Teen Driving Contracts)
An interactive tool that helps parents create a clear, step-by-step roadmap for a teen’s driving privileges. By systematically adjusting rules for nighttime driving or carrying passengers, you can drastically reduce your teen’s crash risk during their first six months of solo driving.
CHOP TeenDrivingPlan Practice Guide
Designed by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, this research-backed resource features helps parents create the right learning environment to develop safe skilled drivers. Interactive logging tools and quick instructional videos to help parents structure supervised practice hours and build their teen’s confidence in bad weather or at night.
CDC Parents are the Key
Discover the Center for Disease Control’s official tools for modeling safe driving behavior. This hub links to an “Eight Danger Zones” page outlining the leading risk factors for young drivers, as well as a “Parent-Teen Driving Agreement” page to encourage safe driving.
Impact Teen Drivers: Parent Workshops
Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading threat to young drivers, but they are entirely preventable. This platform offers parents clear guides to understanding Graduated Driver Licensing laws, alongside tools to help model and reinforce distraction-free habits at home.
Resources for Schools & Teachers
Reduce TN Crashes
Bring friendly competition and traffic safety to your high school! Sponsored by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO), this platform allows your school to log peer-to-peer safety activities, earn points, and climb a statewide leaderboard to win Gold-level safety awards. Hosting a Brake 4 Life Workshop can help your school earn points on the Reduce TN Crashes leaderboard!
Teens in the Driver’s Seat (Tennessee Only)
Get free access to America’s first peer-to-peer safety program. Educators can order free toolkits, educational banners, and resource kits designed to empower students to advocate for smart driving habits within their own schools.
TN Road Safety Standards
Access official Tennessee curriculum frameworks, lesson plans, and classroom standards. This site guides educators on how to seamlessly integrate traffic safety, defensive driving principles, and legal responsibilities into high school health and wellness classes.
Crash Science in the Classroom
Created by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), this site provides free hands-on STEM lesson plans, physics-based videos, and interactive curriculum layouts that map out the science behind vehicular collisions.
Impact Teen Drivers: Educational Materials
Explore the evidence-based traffic safety curriculum used in our Brake 4 Life workshops. Educators can gain access to posters, flyers, presentation decks, structured lesson plans, and classroom videos that align with National Health Education Standards.
Just Drive Virtual Reality Simulation
Designed by The Kiefer Foundation, this Virtual Reality program features three 4–6 minute crash scenarios engineered specifically for younger, newly permitted, or pre-licensed drivers who benefit most from hands-on learning. As part of Brake 4 Life workshops, our team brings the Meta Quest headsets, handles the setup, and guides students through the complete 10–12 minute user journey (including surveys and safety pledges).
YOVASO: Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety
Empower students at your school to take the lead in preventing motor vehicle crashes through engaging peer-to-peer education, advocacy, and youth leadership programs. YOVASO provides member schools with interactive programs, campaign kits, leadership retreats, and loaner resources to launch student-led safety initiatives.
Christopher King Foundation: Seatbelt Safety Speakers
Bring a deeply moving presentation on seat belt safety and passenger awareness to your school. Founded in memory of 18-year-old Christopher King, who lost his life in a crash shortly after high school graduation, the foundation’s speakers—Christy, Alvin, and Fred—share Christopher’s story to remind teens of the life-saving habit of buckling up every single time.
The Gweedo Memorial Foundation
Founded by Tammy McGee in loving memory of her 16-year-old son, Joseph Conner Williams Guido (“Gweedo”), the foundation delivers impactful assemblies and classroom presentations. Tammy shares Conner’s story to educate teens and parents on the real consequences of destructive driving choices, passenger responsibility, and speaking up before a crisis occurs.
Meet Samuel Jones:
Your Guide to Driving Smart
I’m Samuel, and I’m passionate about helping teens like you become safe, confident drivers. As the Senior Program Coordinator for Buckle Up Appalachia, I’ve spent years working to make our roads and communities safer.
My work isn’t just about cars—it’s about a bigger picture of safety. I’m a certified expert in everything from child passenger safety to teen driving and even rail safety. I’m proud to be a board member for Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO), where I help lead a peer-to-peer initiative to prevent crashes.
I also work with Operation Lifesaver, an organization dedicated to preventing train-related incidents. Whether you’re in a car, on a bike, or on foot, I’m here to teach you how to be aware and make smart choices around railroad tracks.
My goal is to give you the skills and knowledge you need to stay safe on the road so you can focus on the journey ahead.