TDOT & THP Partner to Keep Teens “Between the Barrels” at Hickman County Middle School

NASHVILLE- The Tennessee Department of Transportation is working to keep teen drivers safe and will travel to Hickman County Middle School in Hickman County, Thursday, October 7 to present “Between the Barrels” to 165 students. “Between the Barrels” is an interactive safe driving program geared toward teen students just learning to drive. The goal of the program is to save lives by educating teens on the importance of always practicing safe driving habits, especially in highway work zones. TDOT will be joined by representatives from the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

 

WHO:              TDOT 
                        Tennessee Highway Patrol

WHAT:           “Between the Barrels” Presentation

WHEN:           1:30 p.m., Thursday, October 7, 2010

WHERE:         Hickman County Middle School, Hickman County

During the 2008-09 academic year, the successful TDOT “Between the Barrels” program reached students in more than 90 schools with the compelling visual message—“When it comes to driving, there’s no such thing as beginner’s luck.”

 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are the leading cause of fatalities among teens in the United States. Nationally, teen drivers (ages 13-19) are at a four times greater risk for crashes than older adults and are involved in 15 percent of fatal crashes, but make up 6.7 percent of the total driving population. In 2008, 113 teens died in traffic crashes in Tennessee, down from 166 in 2007. Preliminary numbers show 96 teen deaths in traffic crashes in 2009. Already, at least 58 teens have died in traffic crashes in 2010. 

For more information on Teen Driver Safety visit www.tn.gov/safety/pubsafety/teendriversafety.html.

 

For more information on the Between the Barrels program visit www.tn.gov/tdot/wzsafety.