May 2019 declared Teens in the Driver Seat Safety Awareness Month
Douglas County High School is in its third year of being a Teens in the Driver Seat® school, and this week Governor Brian Kemp presented a proclamation declaring May 2019 as Teens in the Driver Seat Safety Awareness Month while honoring Safe Kids Georgia and The Teens in the Driver Seat® program.
Joined by Department of Transportation Commissioner, Russell McMurry and new Governor’s office of Highway Safety Director, Allen Poole, Governor Kemp recognized students for their efforts to educate their peers on safe driving behaviors.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s statewide injury prevention network, Safe Kids Georgia, serves as the state partner for this award-winning initiative. Teens in the Driver Seat® is a nationally recognized peer-to-peer program available to all Georgia middle and high schools with activities grounded in positive messaging and the use of incentives to reward good driver and passenger behavior. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Safe Kids Georgia strongly advocate for preventing injuries and fatalities related to motor vehicle crashes, which is the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.
In Georgia in 2017, teen driving crashes resulted in approximately 9,700 serious and fatal injuries. That equates to more than 26 teen-related injuries or fatalities per day.
“Teens who regularly participate in positive social projects designed to help their peers and others are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.”
Department of Transportation Commissioner McMurry
“Teens who regularly participate in positive social projects designed to help their peers and others are less likely to engage in risky behaviors,” said Commissioner McMurry.
Top risks for young drivers include distracted driving, driving at night, speeding and driving too fast for conditions, not wearing a seat belt and driving impaired.
The Teens in the Driver Seat® program is free to all Georgia schools that participate and would not be possible without the support of the Georgia Department of Transportation. Since this program’s inception it has reached over 440,000 teens in Georgia. This year alone, the program is active in close to 90 middle and high schools across the state.
- Program Partners Include:
- Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Teens in Driver Seat
- Safe Kids Georgia and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
- Governor’s Office of Highway Safety’s Young Drivers SHSP Task Team
- Georgia Department of Transportation
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015
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