TDOT & TDOS Partner to Keep Teens “Between the Barrels” at Chester County High School

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Highway Patrol will present the “Between the Barrels” program to 100 high school students at Chester County High School on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. The students are all taking Chester County High School’s Driver Education Class and the Between the Barrels program will help further educate them on safe driving practices in highway work zones. The goal of the Between the Barrels program, which is geared to students who are just learning to drive, is to save lives and help reduce the chances of a teen driver being involved in a dangerous work zone crash.

 

As part of the presentation, Lt. Bobby Fuller with the THP will stress teen driver safety and the importance of the Move Over Law, which requires drivers to move over or slow down when passing emergency vehicles on the roadway. 

 

WHO:              TDOT, THP Safety Education

 

WHAT:           “Between the Barrels” Presentation

 

WHEN:           8:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 8, 2009

 

WHERE:         Chester County High School

 

Since the 2008-09 academic year, the successful TDOT “Between the Barrels” program has reached students in more than 100 schools with the compelling visual message—“When it comes to driving, there’s no such thing as beginner’s luck.”

 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are the leading cause of fatalities among teens in the United States. Nationally, teen drivers (ages 13-19) are at a four times greater risk for crashes than older adults and are involved in 15 percent of fatal crashes, but make up 6.7 percent of the total driving population. In 2007, there were 189 teen drivers involved in 179 fatal crashes in Tennessee resulting in 193 deaths. In 2008, this figure decreased to 137 teen drivers involved in 132 fatal crashes resulting in 149 deaths. In 2008, preliminary statistics indicate a 32 percent decline in teen fatalities from 166 in 2007 to 113 teenagers who lost their lives on Tennessee roadways last year. As of November 29, 2009, preliminary statistics indicate 80 teenagers have been killed on Tennessee roadways compared to 106 at this same time a year ago.

 

For more information on Teen Driver Safety visit http://tn.gov/safety/pubsafety/teendriversafety.html.

###