May 29, 2008

Launching Maxwell's Pledge

Maxwell’s Pledge... and a police chief’s wish

By Shana McLean Moore
Staff Writer

On Tuesday, May 27, there was a gathering to launch Maxwell’s Pledge. It probably was the ideal spot since the pledge is named for Maxwell Harding who was a Leland graduate.

Leland students and Harding family members listen as Martin Harding explains “Maxwell’s Pledge.” Photo by Shana McLean Moore

The family of Harding, one of the four Almaden residents killed in a tragic car crash on Graystone Lane last July, made a conscious decision to turn their trauma into a public service for local teenagers. To that end, they collaborated with the San José Police Department and American Medical Response (AMR) to launch Maxwell’s Pledge, a new peer-to-peer program for teens to promote and support safe driving behavior.

The July 23 crash killed Harding and his friend, Eric Satterstrom, when their car went out of control on Graystone Lane. Just as the car lost control, it hit and killed Inder and Uma Batra, Almaden residents out walking, before crashing into a tree and exploding. California Highway Patrol officers said it appeared the car was going about 80 mph in a 35 mph zone. That stretch of Graystone Lane had often been the sight of speeders. A stop sign and other traffic calming measures have since been added.

With the assistance of Leland High School’s Associated Student Body (ASB) members, Police Chief Rob Davis officially launched the program by addressing the crowd of family members, friends, school administrators and local media. Davis expressed his belief that this program would be successful because it charges teens with holding one another accountable for their actions.

“They will look each other in the eye and pledge to take care of one another,” said Davis. “If this program can save just one kid, it will be worth it,” he added.

Davis’ speech was followed by a statement by Virginia Jones, the community education coordinator of AMR, whose organization plans to visit one high school a month to continue to bring the message of “Choices,” a powerful video and live presentation by AMR employees, and “Maxwell’s Pledge.”

Martin Harding, Max’s father, grabbed the crowd’s attention by citing the 6,000 deaths of teenagers per year at the hands of a steering wheel. The statistic was made more vivid when Harding said “this is like having a jumbo jet of teenagers crash once a month for a year, or the sinking of four Titanics of teens every year.”

Harding wants to communicate the message that half of these fatalities are passengers, like his son, who are innocent victims to the choices of the drivers. Additionally, Harding noted that teen death rates rise exponentially for every additional teen riding in the car. This explains why, in addition to the pledge, Harding hopes each student who takes the pledge will also display the sticker with the Maxwell’s Pledge logo on it, as a visible daily reminder for all to drive safely.

During the presentation, the Harding family showed a video with comments from Max’s siblings and friends, hitting home the message that one small choice can affect the rest of your life. It was especially emotional for the audience because Max’s parents, brother and sister were sitting just a few feet away as images of their son and brother flashed on the screen. There was no way to dismiss this as a generic, fictionalized movie since these were real people they knew who had been, and are still, affected by this tragedy. The sounds of the family’s sniffles and muffled sobs could be heard over the sound of the video.

The video tribute to Max Harding and the plea to take Maxwell’s Pledge was followed by the AMR video, “Choices.”

Kim Connelly, an AMR employee, spoke bluntly to the students about how their choices affect not only their own lives and those of their friends and family, but also the lives of people like her who arrive at the scene of these accidents and try to save lives, but too often have these victims die in her hands.

Her impassioned pleas to value life were coupled with the graphic images of accident scenes, as well as the accompanying music of Sarah McLachlan’s “Arms of an Angel,” all of which created an emotional and memorable impact she hopes will override the young people’s sense of invincibility.

The day was coordinated by Patti Young, whose job title is ASB bank clerk at the school. She became involved with the program despite the fact that it was neither her job nor her personal responsibility, since her children no longer attend the school. Young, however, says, “These kids are still my kids. I am not their teacher—I am more like a mom to them. They tell me their stories and it is my passion in life to keep these kids safe.”

Young assisted the ASB leaders in organizing the day’s event. The students started planning and consulting back in September and were pleased with the outcome.

Crystal Adams, ASB president, was proud to be involved even though she didn’t know Max personally. In addition to helping coordinate the day’s logistics, she and her fellow class officers, Elaine Steranka and Lindsey Friessnig, consulted with the police department’s graphic artist to design a logo for the stickers that would appeal to the student population.

Kat Beheshti was one of the many Leland students who were inspired to sign the pledge after listening to the presentations. With Senior Ball just a few days away, the message couldn’t have come at a better time. “It made a big impact on me,” said Beheshti. “I am one of the most straight-edged people around and I was actually contemplating partying for the first time at Senior Ball. Now, I will not. I am going to take the pledge.”

This could very well mean that Chief Davis, the AMR organization and the Harding family will get their wish.