Driving Class will talk safety

A seminar designed to help keep new drivers safe will be held Thursday at Wesley United Methodist Church in Evans.

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P.R.I.D.E. -- Parents Reducing the Incidents of Driver Error -- is a two-hour class in which the graduate driver's license and Teen and Adult Driver Responsibility Act are discussed.

"For the parents, there is a primary focus on what is needed during the 40 hours of driving practice and parental responsibility for the process," said Rene Hopkins, a registered nurse and the coordinator of Safe Kids of East Central Georgia, which is conducting the class and is based at the MCG Health Children's Medical Center. "For the teens, there is a primary focus on responsibility and safe driving practices. Teens learn that driving is a privilege and not a right."

Developed by the University of Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute, P.R.I.D.E. helps to establish a dialogue between parents and their teens before the 40 hours of supervised practice driving time, as required by law.

The program, open to ages 14 to 16, will address driver attitude, knowledge and the behavior of both the parent and the new teen driver, and an overview of Georgia licensing laws.

"The program has been very well received and evaluations for the program are always very high," said Hopkins, who added that an average of 200 Georgia teens die in traffic accidents each year. "We really think that this is a very valued program."

The program will run 6-8 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist on North Belair Road in Evans, and will be led by Safe Kids volunteers.

To register for the program, call (706) 721-7606. Classes are limited to 16 teens and their parents and are offered six times each year, with the next P.R.I.D.E. seminar scheduled for January.