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State Program Saves Teens' Lives
Kids and cars can be a deadly combination, but in the state, it's not as deadly a combination as it used to be.

After 15 young people from Tazewell County died between 2005 and 2006, initiatives to get teens to urge their peers to drive safe and helping bring fatality numbers down are working, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

IDOT's Director of Traffic Safety, Mike Stout, says, the number of teens killed on Illinois roadways has decreased every year since then.

Stout says the sharp drop in fatalities among teens can be linked to when Operation Teen Safe Driving began.

"In 2007, there were 153 teens killed in Illinois. In 2008, that number dropped to 93 -- a 40% decrease," Stout said. "And then, from 2008 to 2009, right now, we are seeing a 10% reduction. In three years, teen fatalities have almost been cut in half."

Stout says teens often tune out their parents and teachers but they will listen to their peers. He says that is why safe driving programs like Operation Safe Driving succeed.

Stout says kids involved in the program have come up with slogans such as, 'If you text - you may be next' and 'Could You Live Without Me?'.

High school groups can apply for grants of two-thousand dollars apiece with Ford Motor Company and Allstate underwriting the program through their foundations.

For more information on the Teen Safe Driving Program, CLICK HERE.
10 26 09 by Newsroom
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