Teen drivers encouraged to register for summer course

May 18—The St. Joseph Safety and Health Council is noticing a lack of teenagers signed up for its summer driving program for the first time.

Many reasons could be behind why there is a decrease in teenagers signing up for courses to obtain a driver's license, including a growing trend that shows teenagers are not immediately choosing to get their driver's licenses. The most recent data from the Federal Highway Administration shows that 25% of 16-year-olds obtained their licenses in 2021, compared to the 46% of people the same age in 1983.

Regardless of the reason for the decline, safety officials are warning families that teens missing out on driver's ed could pose a risk when it comes to road safety and understanding traffic laws.

"It is so important to fully understand the traffic laws because that's why we see so many teenagers involved in accidents today," said Frank Till, executive director of the safety council. "Where you stop when you come up to a stop sign, what that stop block is for, how to navigate one-way streets, using your turn signals in enough advance. A trained instructor is really going to teach them these fundamentals and prevent a tragedy from happening."

The teen driving course hosted by the safety council is led by law enforcement officers all educated on traffic laws and will consist of 38 hours of training.

Of those 38 hours, 20 will be in classroom training where traffic laws are taught, 12 hours of observation, and six hours of individual driving with an instructor. Officials say these are hours most guardians don't have available to train children, which is why they are encouraging parents to enroll their teens in a course.

"It would be very difficult for a parent to be able to carve out that much time and have that much expertise to really share with their kids," Till said. "The other thing is that young, young adults often accept criticism or correction from someone else better than they do their parents, so I think there's a lot of value in this course. Everybody that's ever taken it, the parents and the students, have all thought that the class was beneficial."

The summer driving course is geared toward teenagers aged 15-19, with the classroom portion beginning June 3. The total cost to enroll in the program is $295.

For information on the permit academy, you can visit the safety council website at www.stjoesafetycouncil.org.

Jenna Wilson can be reached at jenna.wilson@newspressnow.com.