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Teens Get Special Driving Lesson in Springfield
(IRN)-Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White got out of the Ford Mustang and walked over to about a dozen teen drivers from Salem.

"We've gotten our report card back from the Illinois State Police that says we've enjoyed a 50 percent reduction in the loss of lives at the hands of our teen drivers. And the greatest cause of a loss of life at the hands of our teen drivers is automobile crashes," he said at a driving seminar for teenagers at the Springfield airport.

"You are going to participate in prom very shortly," he said to the teens. "Who knows what prom means? Please Return On Monday. Let me hear that."

"Please return on Monday," echoed the teens.

About 200 Illinois teens spent three hours working their way through four simulated driving exercises. Among the simulations was a distracted driving portion with loud music and loud passengers. There was also a drunk driving simulation where teens wore goggles as they drove, as well as a course that taught them how to work their way out of a skid. All of this happened on a closed course at the airport.

Despite the reduction in lost lives, White says he's still working to make Illinois roads even safer.

"We are going to reconvene our graduated driver's license task force and our distracted driver's task force to find out other ways in which we can make the roads of Illinois safe," he said.
04 19 11 by Newsroom
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