TDOT & THP Partner to Keep Teens “Between the Barrels” at Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School

JACKSON, Tenn. - April 4-8 is National Work Zone Awareness Week and The Tennessee Department of Transportation is working to keep teen drivers safe while traveling in work zones across the state. TDOT will travel to Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School in Fayette County, Wednesday, April 6 to present “Between the Barrels” to approximately 800 students. “Between the Barrels” is an interactive safe driving program geared toward teen students just learning to drive. The goal of the program is to save lives by educating teens on the importance of always practicing safe driving habits, especially in highway work zones. TDOT will be joined by representatives from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

 

WHO:              TDOT
                         Tennessee Highway Patrol

WHAT:           “Between the Barrels” Presentation

WHEN:           9:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 6, 2011

 

WHERE:         Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School, Fayette County

During the 2009-10 academic year, the TDOT “Between the Barrels” program reached 35,870 students 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 2008, 113 teens died in traffic crashes in Tennessee, down from 166 in 2007, and 96 teen deaths in 2009. Preliminary numbers show 82 teens have died in traffic crashes in 2010. Already in 2011, 16 teenagers have died in traffic crashes.

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

 

For more information on the Between the Barrels program visit www.tn.gov/tdot/wzsafety.

 

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For More Information Contact:

Nichole Lawrence

Region 4 Community Relations Officer

731.935.0318