Global Youth Coalition Member Feature: Isabelle Boullier

1. Where are you connected right now? Tell us about the work you're doing.
I am from Rhode Island, which is in the United States! Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to take my local community work to a national level with SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), our Nation’s premier youth health and safety organization. I had the opportunity to serve as the SADD National President and complete an 8-week internship with the National Highway of Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

During this time, I was able to connect with experts in the Impaired Driving Division, learn more about what NHTSA does around the country, and complete three projects that addressed traffic safety concerns/concepts I am passionate about.

The biggest one was addressing the intersection of Mental Health and Traffic Safety, followed by the International View of Traffic Safety. Both of these were integral in my growth as a leader and advocate in traffic safety. In addition to that, I also work on prevention-focused areas that intersect with traffic safety— mainly substance use prevention and mental health awareness. Connecting the correlation of these topics to traffic safety only expands the conversation further and helps us continue to understand the need to make traffic safety a primary public health concern.

2. How did you first get involved in road safety? 
I first got involved in road safety when I was 13, with my family, after my oldest sister was struck and injured by a drunk driver on her 17th birthday. My family and I made a traffic safety commitment and wanted to educate and advocate for safer roadways.

We became involved in our local prevention coalition, volunteered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, created our own PSA video on the dangers of drunk driving, attended youth health and safety conferences, and took to our local middle and high schools to establish SADD Clubs. I quickly grasped the importance of safe driving behaviors and expanded my horizons to issues that intersected with traffic safety (mental health, substance use, etc.).

I became very active across my state and leveraged my impact to the national level. I have recently been expanding my traffic safety knowledge through what I learned under my internship about the importance of the safe system, sustainable transportation networks, and what I can do in that space to help create a safer, sustainable future.

3. Can you tell us a little bit about the road safety and sustainable mobility situation in your area? 
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, but across the United States, we lose about 30k+ individuals to road crashes every year. In Rhode Island, we are already above the number of traffic crashes as of August 2021 compared to August 2020- which means we are not trending in the right direction to achieve a roadway that has zero road traffic fatalities. Overall, Rhode Island has made progress by putting plans in place to strategically work towards a sustainable transportation network.

But, there is still much work needed to be done, and that requires encouraging and educating people on what they can do to help this issue. The individual impact is really important when it comes to building a sustainable future— because we all have a part to play in achieving the SDGs!

4. Why do you think it's important to include young people in local and global road safety efforts?
It is extremely important and personal to me that young people are included in local and global road safety efforts. From being the youngest leader on a team to the youngest on advisory boards to the youngest speaking in a room full of legislators on why stricter drunk driving laws are important are my reasons why young people are essential in helping solve this issue. We are going to be the leaders of this system, the system implemented now is going to be the roads we will be using to travel later on down the line. If we keep trending in the wrong direction— what is the predicted number of young people who will be taken away from us by 2030?

Not only that— representation is important. The leading cause of death for individuals aged 5-25 is traffic collisions. Teenagers ages 16-19 are 3 times more likely to get into a fatal car crash compared to drivers aged 20 and older. Road crashes are one of our BIGGEST challenges! The groups being affected the most, should be the people at the FOREFRONT voicing and advocating FOR change— with individuals who want to hear us and have the same desired end goal that we do. To end fatalities and severe injury on our roadways across the globe for roadway users of ALL ages. 

Young people are passionate, empowering, engaging, creative, innovative, and are up for the challenge. They also have unique, personal experiences to offer. We can speak on behalf of how we are being affected and continue to help educate on why safe driving behaviors are so important. We can help advocate for policies. We can do so much more than sitting back and listen. 

We are watching our friends, family members, and young people around the world be taken from us due to road traffic crashes. It shouldn’t be normal or acceptable for young people to continuously become another statistic. We all want one thing at the end of the day— and that is for our loved ones to come home safe.

5. Why did you join the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety? 
I joined the Coalition because I wanted to leverage my impact within the traffic safety sector. I wanted to expand and find opportunities and tools that would equip me with the ability to help create safer sustainable roadways.

I want to also continue to fuel my passion for traffic safety and connect with young individuals who have a similar interest in creating safer roadways.

It’s also really encouraging and important to me to hear what young people around the world are doing to help create a safer world for all roadway users. I aim to inspire and be inspired by others, so we can create change together! 

6. What are your comments on the Coalition? Its activities? Its opportunities? 
This Coalition actually provides many amazing opportunities to build your skills in your journey to create safer, sustainable roadways. I have registered for the free 6 module course on Road Traffic and Injury prevention and have seen numerous webinars and resources of all kinds that are extremely helpful as a young, developing leader. I appreciate this organization being dedicated to foster an atmosphere that is truly student-led and empowers young leaders to make a change. 

7. Any messages for people who have not yet joined the coalition?
If you are looking to leverage your impact, join this Coalition! There will be numerous opportunities for you to grow as a leader and be equipped with the knowledge and resources to work on traffic safety issues in your community!