At some point in our lives, we’ve all had the uneasy feeling of being a passenger and just not being comfortable with how the person behind the wheel is driving or conducting themselves. Maybe the driver has had too much to drink, or they’re going too fast, or they’re distracted, talking on the cell phone and not paying attention to the road.

Melinda Lynam will never forget the day when she learned that her daughter, Laura, was killed in a crash as a passenger in a car with 7 teens including the 16-year-old driver. Under the Graduated Driver Licensing Law in Virginia, the driver was only allowed one extra person who wasn’t a family member.

How many times have you been a passenger in a vehicle where the driver was speeding, or speaking on their phone or Bluetooth, or had had a couple of drinks before getting behind the wheel? You likely bit your tongue, rationalizing that you didn’t want to meddle or sound like a “backseat driver” by telling them you felt uncomfortable with their driving choices.

Passengers should take action when a driver is drunk, drugged or distracted behind the wheel, a new public awareness campaign will argue — and it’s raising provocative questions about the role of education in the fight to stop the most egregious driving crimes on U.S. roads.

As passengers, we’ve all had the experience of being uncomfortable when another person is driving us. It could be our spouse, partner, grown child, friend, or parent. It could be someone we’ve known all our lives or a stranger we barely met a few minutes ago. Regardless of who or what the situation is, we all deserve to be safe—both us and others.

Years ago, I rode along with the Washington State Patrol during a nighttime shift with one of their drug recognition experts (DREs). It was an evening to remember, in which we apprehended a drunk driver who had never been arrested before for this offense (I won’t say he was a first-time drunk driver because by the time a person is caught, they’ve driven impaired on average around 80 times before).

All this week (January 22–28) is National Passenger Safety Week, a movement launched by We Save Lives and the National Road Safety Foundation to empower passengers to speak up when their lives or those of others are in danger from reckless drivers. But every day should be a day when we as passengers and bystanders have the Courage to Intervene.

National road safety advocates are aiming to drive down the number of crashes caused by distracted driving by encouraging passengers – particularly teens– to speak up instead of sitting silent in unsafe conditions.