Sheriff Offers Next Teen Driving Course

Sheriff Wendell Hall of the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office has recently initiated a "teen driving course" to help reduce accidents caused by teenage drivers. This program is based on the startling statistics in America that shows vehicular accidents are the number one cause of death for young adults. The course outline covers such topics as vehicular maintenance, vehicular dynamics, aggressive and impaired driving, and recovering from spin outs. 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 from spin outs. This class will be under the direct supervision of instructors from the sheriff's office. The program is twelve (12) hours long and the first class will be conducted on August 8, 2008 from 1600-2000 at the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office training room for the classroom portion of the course and August 9, 2008 from 0800-1600 at NAS Whiting Field for the practicum portion. Facilities at Whiting Field will be used for forward and reverse serpentine, threshold braking, figure eight, evasive maneuver and backing. 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). Each student will also need to provide their own motor vehicle and dress appropriately (no tank tops, flip-flops, "short-shorts", etc.). Each class is limited to fourteen (14) students. Every student must complete permission forms provided by Cindy Sarver below. On the second day of the training, each participant should bring sun screen, sunglasses, a hat (if wanted) 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 ten students who apply. A certificate of attendance will be given at the completion of the class. The class will be instructed by specifically trained sheriff's office personnel. For further information please contact Cindy Sarver at 983-1236.