It is National Teen Driver Safety Week, and the Arizona Department of Transportation is reporting a frightening statistic: last year, 52 teen drivers were killed and more than 3,200 injured on Arizona roads.
“As the only way to truly eliminate the possibility of child victims, we are providing free driver training,” said Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor as he announced an effort at prevention to deal with the all-too-high number of traffic accidents involving teenagers.
The Safe Teen Accident Reduction Training program is sponsored by the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Foundation and Jim Click Hyundai. It is designed to teach young drivers the critical driving skills, including skid recovery, off-road handling, and management of other hazardous scenarios sometimes skipped in common driving experiences.
START instructor Eduardo Castillo, a Tucson police officer, reflected on the early days of the program, which was initiated 15 years ago, citing past accidents involving high school students. “Many were ejected from their vehicles due to improper seatbelt use or inattention,” Castillo said.
Twice a month, the five-hour course conducted in class is applied in a controlled environment, and the young driver gets to practice the dangerous situations that may occur, always under the guidance of expert trainers. The practical experience is added to the theoretical knowledge acquired by the licensed drivers in this age group: 16–19 years old.
With formal driver’s education not being mandatory in the state of Arizona, START helps to fill an important gap in teen drivers. It is no wonder then that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, car accidents are still the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, which makes programs like START essential.
While the course is free to enroll, the foundation does welcome $50 contributions to subsidize the program. Castillo believes the results of the course can be seen in how much people change. “They may be nervous at first, but by the end, they’re smiling and eager to return.”
Registration for December classes opens on November 4, and more information is available on the START website.
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