The Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) is pleased to announce that State Farm has generously granted $50,000 to the Teen Driver Challenge, an educational course that provides teen driver education. This program has been a vital contribution in keeping Florida’s teen drivers, and everyone on the roadway, safe. State Farm has granted a total of $810,000 to the program since 2011.
“We are so thankful for State Farm’s support over the past ten years that has helped keep this program completely free for Florida’s teen drivers,” said FSA President Sheriff Bobby Schultz. “We look forward to maintaining this partnership to keep our roads safe, and our youngest drivers informed.”
At the request of the Florida Sheriffs, the Teen Driver Challenge was created in 2007 to lower the high crash and fatality rate of young drivers. It’s the largest commercial driving school in Florida and is offered to teens at no charge. The cost to run this program is covered by grants from State Farm and contributions from local sheriff’s offices. Instructors are certified law enforcement officers with accreditations from the State of Florida Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, under the Florida Sheriffs Association’s State of Florida Commercial Driving School License. The program is currently available in over 40 counties and coming to more soon.
Deputy Michael Snowhill from Indian River County Sheriff’s office described the impact of the program, “Every student becomes a success story when they attend the Teen Driver Challenge. As instructors, we see the amazing transformation in confidence and driving skills in each driver throughout our time together.”
The importance of the Teen Driver Challenge comes from the statistics. According to the Center for Disease Control, teens are involved in three times as many fatality crashes as other drivers with vehicle accidents being the leading cause of fatalities. More than 2,000 students successfully complete the Teen Driver Challenge in Florida each year.
For more information on the Teen Driver Challenge program, visit http://www.teendriverchallenge.com.
