Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Summer 2008)
TOPIC: It's No Accident
Coalition helps teens gain keys to safe driving
by kelly k serrano

In 2005, 10 teens died in traffic accidents in Larimer County – the most in the state.

“We don’t want that distinction,” says Janet Werst, injury prevention coordinator for Poudre Valley Health System and project coordinator for the Teen Motor Vehicle Safety Coalition of Larimer County.
The coalition educates parents and teens about Colorado’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) laws and safe driving, she says. It is made up of 25 members from fire departments, law enforcement, health and insurance agencies and schools, as well as teen drivers and their parents.

Last year the Colorado Department of Transportation awarded the coalition an $83,000 grant, allowing the coalition to offer 100 $300 driver’s education scholarships. Werst says the coalition has applied for another grant to continue the scholarships and public education.

“In order to gain the skills necessary to be a good driver, teens need classroom as well as behind-the-wheel instruction,” she says. “From research, we know that the brain does not fully develop until age 25, so teens can’t comprehend the risks and consequences behind the full-time job of driving.”
Hit the Road

To find out more about the driver’s education scholarships, call Anna Krell at the Teen Motor Vehicle Safety Coalition of Larimer County, 495-7509.

For more information about Colorado’s Graduated Driver’s Licensing laws, visit www.coteendriver.com.
 

The scholarships are awarded based on need, but they are not handouts, Werst says. Applicants write an essay about why they need the assistance and must give 10 hours of their time to educate others about safe driving; their parents also are expected to attend a class on the GDL laws and wearing seat belts.
It’s time Joan Sheldon says is well spent in return for her 17-year-old son learning to drive on his and her behalf. Sheldon is in a wheelchair and unable to drive, so the forthcoming license will give the family new freedom.

For Amanda Winfield, a single mother whose 14-year-old son, Aaron Fleming, has completed the driver’s education course, the financial help removed “a big burden.”
And she fully supports the community service requirements.

“I think it’s a great way to get children involved and give them a better understanding of what a huge responsibility it is to obtain your license and what a privilege it is to have it.”