“You Only Live Once” is the theme of the Texas Reality Education for Drivers Program (RED) presentation about the dangers of texting and driving which will be brought to TSTC in Brownwood in an open classroom format on Monday, February 18th.  The program features a texting and driving simulator to demonstrate how quickly distractions can cause often fatal motor vehicle accidents.

Area youth are invited to test drive the driving simulator on Monday at no charge.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The goal of Texas Reality Education for Drivers Program is that no young driver is admitted to the trauma room of a hospital because of a motor vehicle crash.  RED is based on the notion that the privilege of driving a vehicle comes with rewards, risks, and responsibilities.  No one plans a crash, but crashes happen every day because someone made a choice to drive dangerously.

There are things we cannot change:  physics, law, effects of alcohol and other drugs, experience at a given time and brain development, but when provided with accurate information, positive experiential learning, and demonstrations of consequences of bad choices, young drivers will become better and safer drivers.  They will choose to drive safely.

Funded by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center (HBMC), RED offers services free of charge to youth and their families to help them to learn to drive safely.  RED offers a variety of programs and services including:

Path of Injury – a hospital-based 6 hour presentation of key factors contributing to the driver and passenger safety, the effects of alcohol and other drugs, crash dynamics, and survivor or victim impact along with a tour of the trauma department and the consequences of bad decisions and driving.

Adult education programs – emphasize the value of parents, guardians, or other adults of influence on teen drivers to keep them safe behind the wheel.  Topics include the Texas Graduated Driver License law, Parent-Teen driving agreements, and other strategies proven to reduce teen-involved motor vehicle crashes.

School presentations – a mixture of grade appropriate interactive and guided driver safety activities presented to large or small groups.

Event booths – at your community health, safety, or other fair where RED can distribute traffic safety information and materials and provide other activities.

To learn more about RED and how a program can be tailored to your community’s needs, or to learn about other ways RED can help your injury prevention efforts, contact Tori Lineberry at 254-202-6531 or tlineberry@hillcrest.net or Dan Worley at 254-202-6532 or dworley@hillcrest.net.