Teen Driver Safety grants awarded several NE Ga. schools

ATLANTA - How many Georgia high schools will make headlines this year when young drivers die at the wheel? Fatal teen crashes will plunge entire Georgia communities and their student populations into sudden periods of grief and disbelief because car crashes remain the Number One cause of deaths for teens across the country.

Georgia Crash Data confirms our youngest drivers, ages 15-19, have the highest rate of crashes, injuries and fatalities - higher than adult or elderly drivers. During 2008, this 15-19 year old driver age group was involved in more than 85,000 crashes on Georgia roadways that resulted in nearly 14,000 injured teens and 134 teen highway deaths.

Tragically, the most recent 2008 DOT crash data shows 41% of those Georgia teens who were killed or seriously injured weren't wearing seat belts. The inexperience and immaturity of these young drivers is believed to be a major contributing factor in their high fatality rate.

This is where Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) can make a life or death difference in our schools. As part of an ongoing program to involve students in efforts to reduce injury and death to young drivers, the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway safety (GOHS) has awarded a $52,000 highway safety grant to Pioneer RESA to enhance their existing SADD chapters. GOHS believes that student involvement in highway safety solutions like SADD can help reduce the problem of teen driver fatalities in Georgia.

"The Governor's Office of Highway Safety is committed to changing the tragic trend of teen driver deaths in Georgia," said GOHS Director Bob Dallas. "The fact is that the rate of teen driver deaths in Georgia and across the country needs to change and it needs to change now. I believe these active SADD chapters can help us achieve our lifesaving goal of lowering teen drive crash, injury and fatality rates statewide. Who better to help address the challenges and dangers of teen driving than teens themselves? I'm confident these SADD student safety advocates can help convince their peers to be safer, more conscientious drivers."

With this comprehensive statewide effort GOHS and its SADD partners plan to coordinate key teen driving issues including operator inexperience, speed, safety belt use, and impaired driving. Participating schools focus on a variety of highway safety issues throughout the school year.

High Schools approved for the grants (totaling $2,000 each) are:

Alpine Center - Carnesville
Alpine Center - Gainesville
Dawson County
East Hall
Flowery Branch
Forsyth Central
Franklin County
Habersham Central
Lambert
North Forsyth
Rabun County
South Forsyth
Stephens County
Towns County
West Forsyth
West Hall
Woody Gap

Mountain Education Center High Schools: Blairsville, Dahlonega, Ellijay, Toccoa and Cornelia

Other Schools: Maranatha Christian Academy, War Hill Christian Academy, White County Summit and White County Christian Academy.