2026 National Teen Driver Safety Week
Jacy Good and Steve Johnson
Honoring National Teen Driver Safety Week: Empowering 1,100 Local Students to "Hang Up and Drive"
National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 18–24, 2026) is a vital reminder of the immense risks young drivers face on the road. Inexperience, paired with risky behaviors behind the wheel, remains a leading cause of tragic accidents. At the Vincent R. Gagliardi Foundation, we are dedicated to turning this awareness into life-saving action.
To mark this important week, the VRG Foundation was honored to sponsor Jacy Good and Steve Johnson, founders of the powerful advocacy program "Hang Up and Drive." On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Jacy and Steve shared their deeply moving story with approximately 1,100 students across three local high schools: Somerville High School, Bridgewater-Raritan High School, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
Bridgewater-Raritan High School
A Promising Day Shattered by Distraction
May 18, 2008, was supposed to be a milestone celebration for Jacy Good—the day of her college graduation. Instead, it became a day of unimaginable tragedy.
On the drive home, Jacy and her parents legally entered an intersection on a green light. Simultaneously, a teenage driver, heavily distracted by a mobile phone conversation, ran a red light from the intersecting road. An oncoming tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the distracted driver, striking Jacy’s vehicle head-on.
Tragically, Jacy’s parents were killed instantly. Jacy was left on the brink of death.
A Miraculous Recovery and a Lifetime Mission
Following nine hours of emergency surgery, doctors gave Jacy just a 10% chance of survival. She spent more than four months in the hospital, with Steve by her side for 12 hours every single day. While her body eventually healed, Jacy was left with a permanent traumatic brain injury that left her unable to use her left arm or lower leg.
Refusing to let her tragedy be in vain, Jacy turned her survival into a global mission to change minds, driving behaviors, and traffic laws. Their extraordinary advocacy work has since been featured:
On The Oprah Winfrey Show and NPR’s Car Talk
At the United Nations alongside Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
As a “Hero Among Us” in People Magazine and profiled on CNN's The Human Factor
In a viral August 2016 AT&T public service announcement that garnered over 350 million views
Our Continued Commitment to Teen Safety
St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Somerville-Branchburg High School
Car crashes remain a leading cause of unintentional deaths for U.S. teenagers, but these tragedies are entirely preventable. By bringing impactful voices like Jacy and Steve directly to our local schools, the Vincent R. Gagliardi Foundation continues its mission to educate young drivers, eradicate distracted driving, encourage seat belt use and save lives.
Remember: No text, call, or distraction is worth a life. Buckle up, stay focused, and drive safely.
Your support will enable us to continue to bring guest speakers to our schools.
