Alive at 25 - Young Driver's Education in Coeur d'Alene

When Sheriff Deputy Jack McAvoy visited our meeting this week, I was prepared to hear that a lot of young people get into auto accidents. What I wasn't prepared to hear was this (taken directly off the Aliveat25.us website)...

You may, also, click the image to the right to view a PDF version:

• Young drivers are involved in fatal crashes at more than twice the rate of all others
• The first year for a newly licensed teenage driver is the most dangerous, with more than one in five involved in crashes
• Each year nearly 6,000 teens are killed in vehicular accidents; more than 3,800 are drivers aged 15-20
• Annually, more than 326,000 young drivers are seriously injured
• More than half the deaths occurred between Friday and Sunday; 41% occurred between 9:00pm and 6:00am
• Exceeding the posted speed limit or driving at an unsafe speed is the most common error in fatal teenage accidents
• More than 1,000 young drivers lose their lives each year in crashes because of an impaired driver, be it themselves or someone else
• Although this group represents about 7% of the nations’ licensed drivers, they are involved in nearly 15% of all fatal crashes

Research shows the leading cause of young driver accidents involve one or a combination of the following factors:

• Lack of awareness to the consequences of risk-taking behavior
• Inexperience with complexities of driving
• Peers in vehicle with the youthful driver
• Driving as a social activity
• Impaired driving to due road conditions, including driving at night
• Speeding
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs

The "Alive at 25" program assists young drivers in understanding the risks associated with driving and goes beyond just your average "driver's ed" class.  At "Alive at 25," participants get to role-play dangerous situations and are offered ways to escape them. Some driver's ed programs in the CdA area offer discounts to those individuals who first participate in an "Alive at 25" class.

If you're interested in learning more, or getting your teen signed up for an "Alive at 25" class, contact with Deputy Jack McAvoy or Deputy Kevin Smart at the Kootenai County Sheriff Department at 208-446-1300.