Teen drivers make up only 7 percent of motorists on Kentucky highways, yet they’re involved in more than 20 percent of crashes.
But one program is being credited with helping bring about a dramatic decrease in the death toll.
The four-hour training session is known as “Alive at 25.” While other courses focus on the mechanics of defensive driving, this one is all about fostering good habits and discouraging risky behavior – and that can be tricky in the smartphone age.
Executive Director of the Office of Highway Safety Bill Bell says teens are "taking selfies, getting on Instagram and other social media" while driving.
"It's not just texting," he stresses.
He’s talking to teens like Lafayette High School senior Maddie Toleman, who says a dynamic instructor, along with first-hand stories and video of accidents, left an impression on her during the course.
"Some things can be pretty scary and graphic and actually having seen that its a lot more powerful," she says.
Though Kentucky’s death toll among drivers 16 to 19 dropped by 46 percent since the launch of the class a decade ago, a recent spike in 2012 prompted KSP officials and sponsor Toyota to boost funding and staffing across the state.
Copyright 2014 WUKY
