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ADECA

April 21, 2016
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200 Alabama teens learn safe driving skills at Montgomery stop of national Ford Driving Skills for Life training course
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MONTGOMERY— If Naesha Suddeth knew before it is not safe to text and drive, she received an eye-widening reinforcement of that message on Thursday.

Suddeth, a student at Berry High School in Fayette County, was one of about 200 teens from across the state to participate in the Ford Driving Skills for Life program as it made an Alabama pit stop Thursday at Montgomery’s Paterson Field. The program was offered at no charge to students wishing to improve their driving skills.

Like all participating students, Suddeth went through three driving courses, including one which simulated driving impaired and driving while texting. Students were required to put on goggles which blurred vision and affected reaction.

“It was scary. When you put the glasses on, it is like the effects of drinking a few beers. Then the instructor tells you to text her a message as you are driving. It was hard,” Suddeth said.

Now in its 13th year, the program travels around the country and pairs young and inexperienced drivers with professional instructors who give them the training and tools they need to stay safe behind the wheel. Each session on the closed driving course focuses on equipping teens with new skills in key areas that they tend to lack: hazard recognition, vehicle handling, space and speed management, and distracted and impaired driving.

Across the United States, vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers. In Alabama there were 35 fatalities and 3,259 injuries resulting from 24,971 crashes involving teen drivers in 2015, according to the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs – state coordinator of many traffic safety programs including Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over – helped bring the event to Alabama.

“We are pleased to work with Ford and the Governors Highway Safety Association to bring this state-of-the-art driver training program to teens in Alabama,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “Today, this hands-on program helped educate our youngest drivers about safe driving practices and encouraged parents to be more engaged with their children before they get behind the wheel without supervision."

After an orientation and driver introductions, the teens grouped up and headed off to one of the three stations focused on common hazards. One unique feature was a “drugged driving suit” designed to stress the dangers of driving while impaired. The suit and a “drunk driving suit” allowed participants to gain perspective on how being impaired can slow movement, reduce coordination, blur vision and make tasks difficult.

“Our 2016 program features some of the newest and most innovative tools available to teach new drivers to be safe and make sound decisions behind the wheel,” said Jim Graham, manager of Ford Driving Skills for Life. “Our new Drugged Driving Suit is intended to complement our Drunk Driving Suit, giving students a critical eye into the consequences of impaired driving.”

Photos from the event will be available for download and publication at www.drivingskillsforlife.com

Contact: Mike Presley or Jim Plott


For more information, visit:  http://www.adeca.alabama.gov/