THE INITIATIVE
The Safe America Foundation initiative SafeTeen Georgia has a goal to provide full-driver education to 20,000 Georgia teens in 2007 and even more in subsequent years. To accomplish the goal the Safe Teen Georgia program will establish 50 or more affiliate locations throughout the state. Most of the instructors who will conduct the training will be emergency personnel - police, fire and EMS personnel - who have been trained by Safe America and certified by the state. The goal of the initiative is to set up 50 training sites, which will be SafeTeenGeorgia affiliates, across the state in which to conduct the classroom training. SafeTeen Georgia Affiliates include that police and fire departments, EMS organizations, universities, libraries and other public and private organizations that have stepped forward to offer their facilities to serve as classrooms and their personnel to become instructors. A significant number of such organizations have already signed on the plan, with more joining in the near futurte. To learn if your community has a SafeTeen Georgia affiliate, just call us at 770.973.SAFE(7233), or if you're outside the Atlanta metro area, call toll-free at 877.399.SAFE(7233).

WHO'S IN?
The initiative was announced in a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol on September 26, 2006. On hand to show their support for the initiative were representatives from state and local government such as State Representatives Calvin Hill, Don Parsons and Roger Bruce and Clayton County Commissioner and Former Atlanta Chief of Police Eldrin Bell; personnel from numerous law enforcement and emergency services organizations, including Sheriff Tom Brown from Dekalb County, Atlanta Fire Chief Dennis Rubin, President of the Atlanta Police Foundation Dave Wilkinson, and the immediate past-President of the Georgia Chiefs of Police George Potter; corporate leaders such as Regional Vice President for Allstate Insurance Cliff Butler and Kelvin Buncum, General Manager for the Atlanta Pepsi Bottling Group. The news media who covered the event included the four major TV stations in Atlanta. the Morris News Service, WABE Radio, WGST Radio and the Marietta Daily Journal.

THE BIG START AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

One of the key elements of the initiative is a one-day training event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This event provides a quick-start in training for teens, but also includes training for driving instructors and for parents, who are responsible for training their teens as well. The first AMS event was held on December 9. It was the coldest day of the season, but more than 1,000 teens and parents braved the freezing temperatures to learn about being safer drivers.

They learned about...
- the physical sciences of handling a vehicle in motion: cornering, acceleration, braking, passing and emergency stops
- auto safety devices and personal security features
- driving in adverse conditions, such as fog, rain, wind, ice and snow
- character development and maintaining positive attitudes and values as applied to driving
- vehicle preventive maintenance
- buying and insuring a vehicle
- state laws, requirements and penalties
- dealing with aggressive drivers and more!

They experienced...
- what happens to unbuckled occupants in a roll-over accident
- being behind the wheel of a big rig and what truck drivers see and don't see.
- a severe vehicle crash, including extraction using the Jaws of Life and Life Flight evacuation.
- the deadly risks at railroad crossings.

OUR SPONSORS
Events such as those at AMS would be impossible with the generous support of sponsors. The following are key sponsors for SafeTeen Georgia and the Teen Driving Academy at AMS.