Parker’s Emergency & Trauma Center at Memorial University Medical Center is partnering with the Coastal Health District Adolescent Health and Youth Development program and the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute at the University of Georgia to offer the “Parents Reducing Injuries and Driver Error” course. The free, two-hour driver education program is designed to help teens ages 14, 15, and 16 – along with their parents and guardians – to learn more about driving behaviors and laws. The next class will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, September 26, at the Savannah-Chatham Police Training Center, located at 3401 Edwin Street in Savannah. Registration by a teen and at least one parent or guardian is required. To register, please call/email Amanda Ramirez at 912-350-1532 or [email protected], or LeKara Simmons at 912-644-5816 or [email protected].

“We are excited to partner with other community organizations to promote injury prevention and awareness. Our efforts will hopefully decrease the number of motor vehicle accidents, injuries, and fatalities that we see in our Level 1 trauma center,” said Amanda Ramirez, trauma outreach and education coordinator at Memorial Health.

The PRIDE program is funded by a grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and is focused on helping parents and guardians become more aware of their own driving behaviors. It teaches parents and guardians how to help teens become safe drivers, teaches what to do during the supervised practice driving time, and alters attitudes and driving behaviors for novice teen drivers.

"Teen crashes and fatalities are a public health issue,” said Coastal Health District Adolescent Health and Youth Development Coordinator LeKara Simmons. “This course will help both teens and parents feel more prepared and more confident about the entire process.”