Schools

Culver City Students Participate in 'In One Instant'

More than 1200 Culver City High School students participated in the harrowing program to stop teenagers from distracted and impaired driving.

More than 1200 Culver City High School students participated in the harrowing program to stop teenagers from distracted and impaired driving.

On May 29, Culver City High school students took part in the  In One Instant program to change the formula that creates the “100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers.”

These are the days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, where proms, graduation parties, long weekends and July 4 celebrations, are key moment when distracted and impaired driving results in car crashes that kill teenagers.
In One Instant is designed to help teenagers avoid these pitfalls, and the Culver City event came on the heels of the crash in Newport Beach that killed five teenagers.

“We’re telling our teens, 'Enjoy the summer, go to parties, go to the beach,'" said In One Instant Co-Founder Gail Schenbaum Lawton. “Just make smart driving choices, so your friends don’t have to drive to your funeral.”

Through peer engagement, the program gets students to make safe driving choices and influence their friends to do the same. The In One Instant co-founders, all parents of high school students, work closely with specialists to customize the program to meet the specific needs of each school.

The program starts with a workshop to prepare selected students and parents to lead an all-school assembly. Assembly highlights include “In One Instant” short film screening, haunting funeral dramatization, “Today I Died" letter readings, and taking the “Vow to Live.”

All students are then urged to join the In One Instant school club to spread safe driving tools to their peers.

In One Instant has also been praised by the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Medical Association and UCLA School of Public Health.

The award-winning In One Instant school safe driving program is produced by Gail Schenbaum Lawton, Cheryl Wada and Debbie Barnett. They are the co-founders of Streetwise Media, a non-profit organization operating in association with the 501(c) (3) Community Partners. State Farm and Fineshriber Family Foundation are the major sponsors of In One Instant, with additional support and services provided by Wells Fargo, Uber, AT&T, Dignity Gates Kingsley & Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Directors, Tip Top Tow Service, South Bay Center for Counseling, Ojai Foundation, and NK Production.


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