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Police, schools partner for teen driving safety
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| Learning safety: Roberto Romero, left, and Aaron Sandin concentrate on their work during the Alive at 25 program held at Benson schools earlier this month. (Adam Bernal/Photo.) |
Adam Bernal/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
The Benson Police Department has partnered with the Arizona chapter of the National Safety Council to premiere the Alive at 25 program, a class targeted at young drivers to help reduce the number of fatalities and to adopt safer driving practices.
Last week, Benson Schools Resource Officer Gary Douglas and Benson School Probation Officer Sepp Sprietsma taught two four-hour sessions with students from San Pedro Valley High School, Benson High School and other youths on juvenile probation. During the class, skill practice, role-playing, interactive media segments, group discussions and short lectures were used to teach young drivers to be safe on the road and to be aware of potential dangers.
According to the National Safety Council, vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for people between the ages of 16 and 24, which accounts for 44 percent of teen deaths in the United States alone.
The National Safety Council developed Alive at 25 as a way to target drivers in this specific age group that has a fatality rate of nearly 6,000 teens per year.
The Alive at 25 program does not teach specific driving practices but focuses on the behaviors and decision-making abilities of youth when they are behind the wheel. The students learn about the consequences of risky behaviors and poor decisions. The program teaches drivers to be aware of several types of driving hazards facing young motorists.
Issues addressed in the class include street racing, cell phones and text messaging, drinking and driving, safety belt consequences, peer pressure, speeding, fatigue, how to control aggressive driving and road rage.
At the conclusion of the course, Margarette Cather, executive vice-president of the Arizona National Safety Council, said she wanted students to walk away with the knowledge of how to be a better defensive driver, how to make proper choices and how to take control of situations. With motor vehicle crashes the number one cause of deaths among 16-24- year-olds, learning these skills is more important than ever, she said.
Cather said ultimately they want the program integrated into high schools and colleges as a regular part of what the institutions offer to students.
"We need this in all our high schools and colleges to save young people's lives and make our world safer," Cather said.
Douglas said they were able to have some great interactive sessions with the students and felt they learned to apply it to their own lives. Sprietsma agreed that the impact from the class is going to go beyond the classroom and into the community itself.
"When we see kids relating to these issues to real life, it shows how much of an impact it has," Sprietsma said.
Sprietsma said the program also is an important partnership between the local schools, Benson Police Department, Juvenile Probation and the National Safety Council to make it all happen.
Sprietsma said he and Douglas are able to provide these opportunities through the Arizona Department's Safe Schools Grant, which helps fund other programs like Kids Voting, Community Works at San Pedro Valley High School, leadership programs at Benson High School and anti-bullying programs at Benson Primary School. The grant also allows them to participate in district school safety team, the multidisciplinary team and the San Pedro Family Resource Council.
Benson High School student Nik Rivas said the class taught more about how to be aware of dangers and how you can apply the information to real-life situations.
"It teaches how things could go wrong, how to avoid that and how to make it better," Rivas said.
"These are real-life situations and happen to people all around us," Rivas said.
The Benson Police Department has partnered with the Arizona chapter of the National Safety Council to premiere the Alive at 25 program, a class targeted at young drivers to help reduce the number of fatalities and to adopt safer driving practices.
Last week, Benson Schools Resource Officer Gary Douglas and Benson School Probation Officer Sepp Sprietsma taught two four-hour sessions with students from San Pedro Valley High School, Benson High School and other youths on juvenile probation. During the class, skill practice, role-playing, interactive media segments, group discussions and short lectures were used to teach young drivers to be safe on the road and to be aware of potential dangers.
According to the National Safety Council, vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for people between the ages of 16 and 24, which accounts for 44 percent of teen deaths in the United States alone.
The National Safety Council developed Alive at 25 as a way to target drivers in this specific age group that has a fatality rate of nearly 6,000 teens per year.
The Alive at 25 program does not teach specific driving practices but focuses on the behaviors and decision-making abilities of youth when they are behind the wheel. The students learn about the consequences of risky behaviors and poor decisions. The program teaches drivers to be aware of several types of driving hazards facing young motorists.
Issues addressed in the class include street racing, cell phones and text messaging, drinking and driving, safety belt consequences, peer pressure, speeding, fatigue, how to control aggressive driving and road rage.
At the conclusion of the course, Margarette Cather, executive vice-president of the Arizona National Safety Council, said she wanted students to walk away with the knowledge of how to be a better defensive driver, how to make proper choices and how to take control of situations. With motor vehicle crashes the number one cause of deaths among 16-24- year-olds, learning these skills is more important than ever, she said.
Cather said ultimately they want the program integrated into high schools and colleges as a regular part of what the institutions offer to students.
"We need this in all our high schools and colleges to save young people's lives and make our world safer," Cather said.
Douglas said they were able to have some great interactive sessions with the students and felt they learned to apply it to their own lives. Sprietsma agreed that the impact from the class is going to go beyond the classroom and into the community itself.
"When we see kids relating to these issues to real life, it shows how much of an impact it has," Sprietsma said.
Sprietsma said the program also is an important partnership between the local schools, Benson Police Department, Juvenile Probation and the National Safety Council to make it all happen.
Sprietsma said he and Douglas are able to provide these opportunities through the Arizona Department's Safe Schools Grant, which helps fund other programs like Kids Voting, Community Works at San Pedro Valley High School, leadership programs at Benson High School and anti-bullying programs at Benson Primary School. The grant also allows them to participate in district school safety team, the multidisciplinary team and the San Pedro Family Resource Council.
Benson High School student Nik Rivas said the class taught more about how to be aware of dangers and how you can apply the information to real-life situations.
"It teaches how things could go wrong, how to avoid that and how to make it better," Rivas said.
"These are real-life situations and happen to people all around us," Rivas said.
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