The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) has renewed Savannah Technical College’s grant ($190,638.72) for the fifth year (FY25) 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.

“Part of the GOHS mission is to assist in the implementation of programs and campaigns designed to prevent crashes and eliminate traffic deaths on our roads,” said Allen Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “GOHS will continue to develop new partnerships and continue existing ones in order to create, refine and implement safety programs designed to help our state and nation reach our goal of zero traffic deaths.”

The Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety partnered with the SCCPSS, and colleges, attended resource fairs, and spent more time networking to reach nearly 20,000 high school students and their parents in FY24. The Center also continued its outreach of distributing traffic safety materials, using Fatal Vision kits to share the dangers of distracted, drowsy, and impaired driving, and shared monthly media campaign about the dangers of distracted driving and impaired driving with a focus on young adult drivers in FY24.

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 Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety builds on Savannah Technical College’s stellar driver’s education program and utilizes grant funding for distracted driver education and alcohol-impaired driving prevention. It serves youth, young adults, and parents in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty Counties.