Savannah Technical College creates Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety with grant funding from Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah Technical College has been awarded a grant in the amount of $191,267 from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The funds will be used by Savannah Technical College to develop the “Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety.” Grant funds will create two core additional services: distracted and impaired driver prevention education. This will take the form of community- and school-based workshops, virtual reality simulation education, social media messaging, and the promotion of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapters in all of area high schools.

“Helping teenage drivers understand the dangers of distracted or impaired driving is critical for everyone’s safety on the road,” said STC President Dr. Kathy Love. “We look forward to serving even more high school students through the Coastal Georgia Center for Driver Safety.”

The most recent CDC findings show that 39% of high school students who drove in the last 30 days had sent an email or text message while driving. Teens are much more at risk for alcohol –related fatalities than other groups.

“The loss of one life on our roads is one too many, and the fact almost all fatal traffic crashes can be prevented is one reason why we are awarding this grant,” Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Director Allen Poole said.  “The target of zero traffic deaths in our nation is achievable, and we will continue to help develop and implement educational messages and enforcement campaigns aimed at bringing our state one step closer to that goal.”

The grant includes the purchase of five One Simple Decision (OSD) Distracted Driving simulators. Savannah Technical College will partner with area high schools for students to interact with the simulators. The OSD simulators are designed to modify driving behavior by illustrating the consequences of choices made behind the wheel. Through the combination of driving simulation, intense interactions and first-person consequences videos, drivers are immersed in a gut wrenching personal experience that results from “One Simple Decision” they chose to make when driving.

The grant began on October 1, 2020 and the funds are provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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# 2108 | Oct. 7, 2020
Media Contact: Amy Shaffer, APR
912.443.5512 or ashaffer@savannahtech.edu