Teenage drivers hit the road with little practical experience, often
ill-prepared for situations they're likely to encounter behind the wheel.
That's why former police officer Doug Darrell created the Street Safe Teen
Driving Program. Inaugural sessions will be held July 27 and 28 at Grace Baptist
Church/Wilmington Christian Academy, 1401 N. College Road.
"We want to help the kids develop the recognition and experience to basically
make them better drivers," said Darrell, 56, who moved to Wilmington 12 years
ago after a career working for police agencies in New York state and Florida.
Darrell said the idea for the program germinated after talking with a friend who
also had children on the verge of becoming teenagers."It was kind of scary to realize they would be driving soon," he said.
The program includes classroom and hands-on components that allow participants
to drive with an instructor. The course is patterned after the law enforcement
Emergency Vehicle Operations Course and is intended to supplement standard
driver's education classes offered in schools, Darrell said.
The Street Safe program will use five demonstration cars enhanced with decals to
make them look like NASCAR racers. The cars will display the names of sponsors,
the program and its Web site. Instruction will cover the dangers of alcohol
consumption and driving, following too closely, sudden lane changes, safely
stopping a vehicle and adjusting driving speed to conditions.
"We want to show them things they need to know when they're out on the road,"
Darrell said. "Very little is being done to combat the problem, and we just felt
we would do what we could to reduce teen accidents, injury and death."
Between 1995 and 2004, drivers between 15 and 17 years old were involved in
26,453 fatal crashes that killed 30,917 people nationwide, according to AAA.
Local law enforcement and judicial officials are vocal backers of the Street
Safe program. Instructors will include police officers, Wilmington firefighters
and District Court Judge James Faison.
In more than a dozen years working with the Wilmington Police Department's
traffic unit, Sgt. David Register has seen the results of poor driving judgment
by teenagers.
He's responded to wrecks caused by tailgating, cell phone use and bad driving
decisions. Register will teach teenage course participants how to respond in a
variety of situations.
"I don't think the first time a teenage driver has to react to an emergency
should be on the street. They should be in some sort of a controlled
environment," Register said. "You see people, inexperienced drivers in
particular, try to make maneuvers that (are) legal, but they just may not be
prudent to do.
"I really encourage any parent who has a teenage driver to put your kid in
there. I know my daughter's going through it," Register said.
Teen participants will be able to experience what it feels like to lose control
of a car and will get to operate golf carts wearing "fatal vision" goggles,
which simulate the vision of a person who has a blood alcohol content of 0.08
percent, the state standard for drunken driving.
N.C. Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. J.O. Holmes also supports the Street Safe program.
"Anything we can do to educate and help train the young drivers is beneficial,"
Holmes said. "Vehicle fatalities are the leading cause of death among teenagers
and anybody willing to step up and do something about it should be commended."
The cost of the four-hour course is $25. The money will be used to cover
expenses like insurance and fuel.
Darrell said he spent seven years developing the nonprofit program and enlisting
support before its launch.
A driver's license or learner's permit is required. The participation of parents
is encouraged.
"We're going to talk about what they can do to make their kids better drivers,"
Darrell said.
Darrell did his homework, seeking input from groups like AAA, driver education
instructors and the National Highway Safety Center at the University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill. He's grateful for the support of local businesses and his
wife Kayne, who helped him set up the program.
"The kids will be extremely safe, but they will see that driving can be
dangerous," he said.
Ken Little: 343-2389
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