Teen Drivers will Sharpen their Skills at this Year’s Rule the Road

Taught by certified emergency vehicle operators from the Sheriff’s Office and the Evansville Police Department, Rule the Road provides teen drivers with exposure to experiences not traditionally covered in driver education courses. These valuable hands-on driving lessons offer teens the chance to practice lifesaving skills on a series of closed courses. Skills and topics covered will include: controlled skidding, controlled braking, collision avoidance, the dangers of texting behind the wheel, and the seriousness of impaired driving. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is providing computerized driving simulators that will allow students to practice crash avoidance skills. A representative from AT&T will be on hand with “It Can Wait” virtual reality goggles for the students to wear.

Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “Nationally, traffic fatalities claim more teenage lives each year than any other cause of death.” Sheriff Wedding explained, “Young drivers are simply not as experienced and are less able to cope with the unexpected. Add to the mix a smart phone, loud stereo and a car load of friends and it’s not hard to imagine why crash statistics for underage drivers are so dismal.” Sheriff Wedding added, “Driver training like ‘Rule the Road’ is a great way for us to make a potentially lifesaving impression on young drivers.”

The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the full-time staff and soldiers assigned to the Sgt. James W. Harlan Reserve Center for making their facility available to us. The center is the home of the 380th Quartermaster Battalion, along with several other Army Reserve Units.

The Sheriff’s Office would also like to thank our local sponsor who helped made this event possible through a generous monetary contribution:

 

 

Pictured above: Students react to a live demonstration of a vehicle airbag deployment at the 2016 Rule the Road, courtesy of Lefler Collision Center.

 

 

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) will be conducting a teen driver safety event called “Rule the Road” on Friday, October 13, 2017 from 9:30am to 2:00pm. The event will be held at the Sgt. James W. Harlan Reserve Center located at 2900 E. Division Street. Although registration for this event is now closed, the news media is invited to attend.  This year, over 50 students from North High School, FJ Reitz High School and the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center will attend.