We live Texas. We Breathe Texas. There’s something special in the Texas air, whether its taking a deep breath of fresh country air after a long hike or inhaling the delicious scent of barbecue off the grill. Drive Clean Texas is here to encourage Texans young and old to do their part to keep the air clean, and it’s citizens healthy.

Last year, the Texas Department of Transportation launched Live and Breath It as part of the Drive Clean Texas campaign to increase awareness of the program to drivers ages 18-34. In 2019, the campaign is launching a new and improved Teacher Resource Center to educate Texas youth on the impact of vehicle emissions on air quality. 

According to the Texas Demographic Center, the state’s population is quickly approaching 28 million with a projection of over 8 million citizens between the ages of zero and eighteen by 2020. With a rapidly growing youth population, Drive Clean Texas wants to make a lasting impact by delivering it’s message to new and soon-to- be drivers in grades 9-12. By educating high school students on how proper vehicle maintenance and safe driving habits can effect air pollution the program aims to keep both young drivers and the environment safe.​

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The Drive Clean Texas Teacher Resources for grades 9-12 include four topics containing ten lessons to engage students and cover an extensive range of subjects from Environmental System to Language Arts and Reading. Topics are curated to educate students on transportation-related air quality and show how their actions affect vehicle emissions, cost of driving, the environment and themselves. Students will learn how cars contribute to air pollution and the consequences of poor air quality. The lessons also encourage students to think about how different types of cars and driving behavior affect their community. Each lesson is developed to correspond with TEKS curriculum to provide easy integration into the classroom.

Teachers can access lessons, PDF downloads and more at www.drivecleantexas.org under Teaching Materials.

Teaching materials will be distributed and made available to SafeWay Driving, a Texas driving school. If you are interested in materials, please contact us.

Updated teacher resources for grades K-8th will be available for the 2019-2020 school year. The Tex and Dot Drive Clean Activity book is available online or in hard copy in limited quantities.

Blog Post written by Catherine Cromer, Campaign Coordinator at the Texas Department of Transportation 

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