Steve Kiefer, Chairman of the Kiefer Foundation spoke to the club about his foundation's mission to end distracted driving.
Kiefer shared the tragic story that inspired the Kiefer Foundation. On 9/17/2016, Mr. Kiefer’s son, Mitchel, was driving to MSU on I-96 and was stopped due to traffic when the car behind rear-ended him at 82 mph. This pushed his car across the median into upcoming traffic, killing him instantly.
The foundation was formed to combat distracted driving with three strategic pillars: awareness, policy, and technology. Through awareness, it educates as to the dangers of distracted driving through safe driving programs and has formed the “Just Drive” campaign. Through policy, it is trying to enact laws like Hands Free USA (which is already in 24 states) that will ticket drivers who are on their phones. Through technology, vehicles may soon have driver monitoring systems that recognize when your eyes are diverted. To learn more, visit www.mkiefer.org.