The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has renewed Savannah Technical College’s grant ($139,706.66) for the fourth year (FY24) to operate the Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety. 

Grant funds will continue to provide distracted and impaired driver prevention education for youth, young adults and parents in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties. These activities include community- and school-based workshops, virtual reality simulation education, and social media messaging.

The Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety partnered with the SCCPSS, and colleges, attended resource fairs, and spent more time networking to reach more than 5,000 high school students and their parents in FY23. The Center also continued its monthly media campaign about the dangers of distracted driving and impaired driving with a focus on young adult drivers in FY23.

The top five dangers for younger drivers include distractions like cell phones and passengers; driving at night (drowsiness); speeding and street racing; not wearing seat belts; and impairments like underage drinking and drugs. The goal of the Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety is to bring awareness to young, young adults and parents about the dangers of distracted driving.