December 11, 2025
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Teen Program to Prevent Distracted and Impaired Driving Now Free-of-Charge to Santa Monica-Area Schools & Community Groups Thanks to Grant by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl

Teen Driving While Distracted and Texting

The In One Instant Teen Safe Driving Program (www.inoneinstant.org) is now being offered without cost to the majority of schools and community groups in Santa Monica, Malibu, the Westside and a large part of San Fernando Valley, thanks to a generous grant by L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl to her District 3 region.

The award-winning In One Instant program works to curb the teen epidemic of impaired and distracted driving.

“We’re extremely grateful to Supervisor Kuehl for her significant investment in stopping the number one killer of U.S. adolescents — Car crashes caused by reckless driving,” remarked Gail Schenbaum Lawton, Co-founder and President of the not-for-profit In One Instant, based in Pacific Palisades.

In One Instant reaches teens on an emotional level, showing them that they have immense power over their own driving decisions and life choices. It is designed as a peer-driven program, which motivates teens to influence their friends and communities to choose safer driving behaviors.

The program kicks off with the one class-period long In One Instant Video Assembly, which has proven very effective for large groups in an auditorium, or for smaller groups in classroom settings. The short film tells compelling stories of teen car crash victims. The video culminates with an uplifting montage celebrating the priceless value of life, with the ballad “I Was Here” performed by the one and only Beyoncé.

The program leaders often book a guest speaker (such as a crash survivor or first responder) and create a gripping campus exhibit of a demolished car embellished with “teen roadside memorials”. The program’s published guides provide follow-up activities to spur teens to promote the safe-driving choices that are essential for saving lives on the roads.

The In One Instant program summary can be seen here.

School administrators, student and parents in Sheila Kuehl’s L.A. County District 3, can start the quick process of bringing In One Instant to their schools and communities, by emailing info@inoneinstant.org.

A list of District 3 cities and areas, as well as a map, can be viewed here.

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