News and Announcements :: September 10, 2008
AUTO ACCIDENTS ARE THE NUMBER ONE KILLER OF TEENS
Sept. 10, 2008 — Motor-vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among teens in the U.S. Awareness of the importance of this issue has grown, yet motor-vehicle-related injuries and fatalities among young people in the U.S. continue to rise.
THE TUCSON POLICE DEPARTMENT and the TUCSON POLICE FOUNDATION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STATE FARM INSURANCE, INTRODUCES THE SAFE TEEN ACCIDENT REDUCTION TRAINING (START) PROGRAM FOR THE 2008/2009 SCHOOL YEAR
In an effort to curb the national trend of rising injuries and deaths among teens due to auto accidents, the Tucson Police Foundation and TPD, with a $10,000 grant from State Farm Insurance, will continue their S.T.A.R.T. training sessions. These sessions are meant to teach teens:
- Off-road recovery
- Evasive steering
- Skid recovery
- Controlled braking
- ABS familiarization
Two sessions start this Saturday, Sept. 13 — classes begin at 7:00 am and 12:00 pm. The ceremonial check presentation from State Farm Insurance will occur at the Police Academy on Saturday at 11:30. While these classes are full, several other classes are now forming. START classes are held at the City of Tucson's state-of-the-art Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center (SALETC) driving track and feature a one-hour classroom presentation followed by four hours of hands-on driving skills training taught by Tucson police officer driving instructors. Parents and teens are encouraged to come out this Saturday and take a closer look at the program. "There are many factors teens need to learn when learning how to drive," says Kenneth Whitehair, Agency Field Executive, State Farm Insurance. "Parent involvement, addressing risky driving behavior, and accident avoidance and recovery are just a few factors teens need to be aware of when first learning to drive."
Parents and teens can find out more information regarding the S.T.A.R.T program on the Police Foundation web site: http://www.tucsonpolicefoundation.org/start.htm.
About State Farm
State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve over 76 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.7 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com®, or in Canada visit statefarm.ca®.
About Tucson Police Foundation
The Tucson Police Foundation, founded in 2003, is an independent, nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to fostering public safety through community building, education, and outreach. In concert with the Tucson Police Department, the foundation works with a range of community safety advocates to develop and implement public safety and crime-prevention programs.
While the city budget provides the necessary resources to fund the operations of the Tucson Police Department, a number of important community programs have been threatened or cut due to lack of funding. The foundation was created as a catalyst in responding to this threat, so that no innovative program would be left behind.
For more information, contact Mike Feder, Executive Director of the Tucson Police Foundation, at 954-8803.