Dover- Do you have a young driver in your house? Do they think they are a safe driver? Through a Ford Motor Company Driving Skills for Life Grant, The Office of Highway Safety, along with the state’s Teen Driver Task Force and other partners, will be hosting two teen driver safety events this month for parents and teens. Parents and teens will participate in several interactive stations together to build their driving relationship in a positive way. The event is open to students from all Delaware high schools regardless of event location. In addition, students will be entered into a drawing for a scholarship if they attend one of the events and complete all of the activities. A total of 6 scholarships will be randomly awarded. Three scholarships will be given away following each event. First place will be awarded $1,500, second place will be awarded $1,000 and third place will be awarded $500.
The events are scheduled for:
Saturday Sept. 19, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sussex Technical High School
17099 County Seat Highway
Georgetown, DE 19947
Saturday Sept. 26, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
St. Marks High School
2501 Pike Creek Rd.
Wilmington, DE 19808
Each event will include two guest speakers on teen driving issues, Tim Hollister and Jennifer Macauley. Tim Hollister is a fellow parent and has become a national authority and spokesperson for safer teen driving since he lost his 17 year old son Reid in a car crash in 2006. He served on the Connecticut state taskforce that overhauled the state’s teen driver laws. He has also written a book Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving, an informative and vital guide for parents to help them understand the causes of teen crashes and head them off before their teen gets behind the wheel. Copies of Hollister’s book will be distributed to parents at both events. (http://www.nsfteendriving.com/).
The second speaker, Jennifer Macauley, was hit at an intersection in August 2004 when a large truck ran a red light (unknown cause) and struck her car on the driver’s side. She was 20 years old at the time and had just graduated from Cecil County Community College three months prior. Jen was admitted to Christiana Care’s trauma ICU for a traumatic brain injury. She was eventually transferred to Bryn Mawr rehabilitation hospital to learn to walk, talk and take care of herself again.
Additional event activities include Christiana Care’s distracted driving simulator, Smart Drive’s SIDNE Driving Simulators and Distraction and Reaction, Delaware State Police’s No Zone Truck Display, Delaware State Police’s Rollover seat belt convincer, Safe Driving Pledge Display, and information tables with Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), State Farm, and AAA.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 14-18 year olds in the U.S. There are over 33,000 licensed teen drivers in Delaware. Teen drivers account for five percent of all drivers in Delaware yet are involved in approximately 15 percent of all reportable crashes in Delaware.
The events are funded through a grant from Ford Motor Company’s teen safe driving program and supported by the state’s Teen Driver Task Force and other partners including Smart Drive, DMV, DSP, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Christiana Care, State Farm, Delaware Safety Council and Delaware Safety Driver’s Education Association of driver’s education teachers.
For more information and resources for teen drivers and the Graduated Driver License visit OHS website at www.ohs.delaware.gov/TeenDriving.shtml or visit www.teendriving.dmv.de.gov.