Local groups educate Oklahoma young drivers for National Teen Driver Safety Week – FOX23 News

CHELSEA, Okla. — It’s National Teen Driver Safety Week, and in gentle of a number of current tragic crashes involving teenagers right here in Oklahoma, native groups are stepping up their training efforts.

On Tuesday, the leaders at Chelsea High School needed to make it as clear as doable simply how highly effective and harmful it may be behind the wheel of a automobile

“What we have found is that the teens are the solution,” mentioned Linda Terrell, Project Director of the Oklahoma Challenge.

An answer, Terrell mentioned, to the continued and rising downside of distracted and unsafe driving.

“They can actually change the future,” she mentioned.

Her group, the Oklahoma Challenge, travels to colleges throughout the state to reveal the realities of what distracted and unsafe driving could cause.

In Chelsea, they introduced out autos concerned in lethal crashes, GRDA introduced boats for boater security classes, they even had a drunk driving simulator.

Walmart even introduced a full-sized semi truck to let teenagers sit inside and get a greater perceive of the blind spots truck drivers have.

“If we can save one child’s life, then we’ve done our jobs,” mentioned Pam Phillips, the Native American Student Association advisor at Chelsea High School.

Teachers and directors say the problem is all to actual in Chelsea.

“We’ve lost students in traffic accidents around here,” trainer Kate Beck mentioned.

In gentle of the current crashes in Tishomingo, the place six excessive schoolers have been killed, and in Sand Springs have been three have been killed—all throughout lunch breaks—security specialists like Terrell have some ideas for faculties as effectively.

“I think there’s some lessons that we can learn to try to help students not feel like they have to rush back,” Terrell mentioned.

She mentioned many faculties have ‘no-cell phone’ insurance policies, not permitting college students to take a look at telephones all through their day in school. She says that will trigger college students to attempt to “catch up” on what they’ve missed whereas driving house, somewhat than being attentive to the highway.

“Could there be a possible ten minutes prior to lunch, prior to the end of school where you can turn that phone back on and get all of those messages and social media posts done before they walk out to the parking lot,” she mentioned.

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