Safety program aims to develop alertness in young drivers

Thirty people died in auto accidents last year in Mahoning County.
By SARAH POULTON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The Department of Motor Vehicles gives young people a license to kill, a license to hurt themselves, Larry Kingston told a group of young drivers.
Kingston, executive director of the National Safety Council's Northeast Ohio Chapter, on East Boardman Street in Youngstown, taught a class called Alive at 25, which is designed to alert young drivers that they are at high risk for an accident or traffic violation. Young drivers are at risk partially because they are inexperienced and also because the decision-making part of their brains has not fully developed, Kingston said.
From compulsory to voluntary
Alive at 25 was recently at the Home Builders/Remodelers Association headquarters. It was the first time in this area that the class was open to people not sentenced by the courts, something Kingstown said he'd like to see continued.
"I'd like to see some of the schools and social organizations offer this ... to get kids to recognize what the hazards are," Kingston said. "I want kids to realize this before they are involved in crashes or get tickets."
Thirty people died last year in Mahoning County from automobile accidents, and 2,165 people were injured, Kingston said. The highest percentage of those causing the accidents were age 16 to 24.
Calming parents' minds
Judy Gregg of Austintown enrolled her daughter, Brittany, in the class against Brittany's wishes.
"[Brittany] is a good driver and doesn't take chances," Gregg said. "But the more knowledge she has behind her, the safer she'll be."
Brittany, 17, has had her driver's license for a little more than a year. She admitted that she wanted to learn how to drive more safely and be able to react properly to those driving around her.
Laurie Keller of Austintown registered her son, Jacob, after he was in an accident, got a traffic citation and lost his driver's license for three months. For Jacob, this course wasn't court-ordered; it was parent-ordered.
"I just hope he's safer ... I worry every time he leaves the house," Keller said. She wants her son to be aware of the dangers of driving and what could happen if he's careless.
Jacob, 17, has had his driver's license since August 2005 and didn't really want to take the class, but did say, "I want to be a safer driver."
Kingston said he believes the Alive at 25 program could benefit all young drivers, and possibly prevent traffic fatalities.
The 15-member class participated in role-playing, group discussion and collaboration and listened to short lectures during the four-hour course.
Alive at 25 stresses the importance of being alert and aware behind the wheel, Kingston said. The course is taught so that young people know how decisions they make can affect the lives of others.
"You make about 200 decisions per mile," Kingston said.
If a person drives 10 miles, and that person is 99 percent right, 20 errors have been made, he said.
spoulton@vindy.com