THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701240167
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 49 lines
Farm Bureau Insurance has started a program to promote safety among teenage drivers by rewarding safe driving by participating teens.
Teenagers who complete a three-year Teenage Driver Safety and Education Program will receive a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond.
Timothy J. Copeland, local Farm Bureau manager, said too many teens are having accidents. He believes the program will encourage them to be better drivers.
Each participant must promise to drive safely and defensively, not drink and drive, and buckle up.
Keeping the promises can have a major positive impact on the number of teenage drivers injured and killed on Virginia roads each year, Farm Bureau officials said in a press release about the program. They offered the following statistics:
More than 40 percent of teenagers' deaths result from motor vehicle injuries.
Teenage drivers have about three times as many auto accidents as adults.
Teenage drivers are responsible for more than 45 percent of all alcohol-related accidents.
Sixty-five percent of teenage passengers killed were riding with another teenager.
Twenty-two percent of all fatally injured teenage drivers were legally intoxicated.
Seventy percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes involving teenagers occur at night.
Only 40 percent of teen drivers use seat belts. Lap and shoulder safety restraints reduce the chance of death or serious injury by almost 50 percent.
Farm Bureau officials say the facts show there's a vast potential for improvement.
``If we can save just one life through this program, we've accomplished what we set out to do,'' said Underwriting Director Dave Lewis.
The program, which is available to drivers under 18 who are insured with Virginia Farm Bureau, works like this:
The teenager watches a videotape on driving after dark, drinking and driving, seat belt use and the relation between a driving record and insurance premiums.
The driver reviews a safety manual, then completes a quiz.
Next, the driver agrees in writing to drive safely and defensively, buckle up and avoid drinking while driving.
If the teen is conviction- and accident-free at the end of the program, the driver will be presented with a $1,000 savings bond.