National driver’s awareness program comes to Glendale high school for the first time

GLENDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) - Car crashes are the second leading cause of death for teens across the United States, according to statistics from the CDC.

For the first time, a national driver’s awareness course is happening this week at Ironwood High School in Glendale. It’s called “Alive At 25″ and was developed by the National Safety Council. It’s a four hour course and about 30 students are getting the training this week.

“Through this partnership between the city of Glendale and the National Safety Council, we are hoping to expand this program into other schools,” said Ed Taube with the Arizona Chapter of the National Safety Council. “The program currently is not being used in any public schools in our state, however, there are some privately owned driving schools that use this curriculum to help teach their young drivers.”

The course is four hours long, and class attendees will learn about the risks of speeding, driving distracted, driver inexperience, and more. The program is being taught alongside regular drivers education classes. Young adults between ages 15 and 24 are at a very high risk of being involved in a crash. Every hour, around 30 teens on average are involved in some kind of car accident involving an inexperienced driver. Seven of those young adults die.

Johnston said, “This program aims to help young drivers focus on their own driving behaviors and choices so that they can take responsibility for their conduct in driving situations and adopt safer driving practices.”

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