SRSO Sponsors Teen Driving Course

Sheriff Wendell Hall of the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office has initiated another in a series of "teen driving courses" to help reduce accidents caused by teenage drivers. The program is based on the startling statistics in America today whereby vehicular accidents are the number one cause of death for young adults. Because of this astounding figure the Florida Sheriff's Association met with representatives of several sheriffs' offices and high school drivers to develop a two-day curriculum called the "Teen Driver Challenge." The program has already been tested during previous pilot programs and has proven very successful. The course outline covers such topics as vehicular maintenance, vehicular dynamics, aggressive and impaired driving. A driving course will be arranged and the young drivers will be required to traverse the course in a series of practical exercises to include braking, swerving and recovering their vehicle during a controlled hydroplaning simulation. This class is managed under the direct supervision of instructors from the sheriff's office that have undergone training in Tallahassee. Sheriff Hall has previously stated, "This program has become too successful elsewhere in the state to ignore its benefit to the teens of Santa Rosa County . I have committed four instructors from my agency in hopes of reducing the number of accidents involving our children." The program is twelve (12) hours long and will be conducted on Friday night August 20, 2010 from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM and all day Saturday August 21, 2010 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.The student's personal automobile will be used, during the entire course. Each student will need to be a licensed driver (no learners permit allowed), between the age of 16 -18, a Santa Rosa resident (out of county residents will be accepted if class is not full), and have all permission forms filled out and returned to the training division (or to the instructor the night of the first meeting). The forms can be obtained from Sheryl Kelley at 850-983-1234. They will also need to provide a copy of their driver license and proof of auto insurance. Each student will also need to provide their own motor vehicle and dress appropriately (no tank tops, flip-flops, “short-shorts”, etc.). On the second day of the training, each participant should bring sun screen, sunglasses, a hat (if wanted), lunch and drinks. An hour lunch will be taken around 11:30 “on your own", with class commencing an hour later. The class will be limited to the first fourteen students who apply. A minimum of ten (10) students is required to hold the class. This class is free to all students.