Driven2BSafe is proof that young people can be part of the solution to one of Missouri's biggest roadway safety challenges. As teenagers themselves, Jacob Corbett and Chloe Belen recognized that too many young drivers were being injured or killed in preventable crashes. Rather than assuming someone else would address the problem, they stepped forward and created Driven2BSafe a youth-led initiative dedicated to helping teens make safer choices behind the wheel.
Through school outreach, library programs, community events, safety campaigns, and partnerships with organizations such as MADD Heartland, First Impact, B.R.A.K.E.S., and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, Jacob and Chloe have helped bring important safety messages to more than 2,100 students, parents, educators, and community members throughout the St. Louis region.
What makes their work especially impactful is that the message comes from peers. They understand the pressures, distractions, and decisions young drivers face because they experience them too. Their ability to connect with other teens has helped create meaningful conversations about seat belt use, distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, and personal responsibility on the road.
Their efforts have inspired other students to get involved, encouraged families to have important safety conversations, and helped build a growing network of young people committed to making Missouri's roads safer.
Jacob and Chloe are not waiting until they are adults to create change. They are leading it now. Through their passion, leadership, and commitment to protecting others, they are helping move Missouri closer to its goal of zero roadway fatalities while demonstrating the incredible impact youth can have when they are empowered to lead.