LAKE COUNTY — The Clear Lake Area California Highway Patrol (CHP) will offer a free Start Smart traffic safety class for teenage drivers and their parents.
The session will run approximately two hours on Jan. 9 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the CHP office in Kelseyville.
The program aims to help future and newly licensed teenage drivers learn the responsibilities that accompany the privilege of being a licensed driver and serves as an educational tool for parents and teens to reduce the number of youth injuries and deaths from traffic collisions, the CHP said.
Start Smart provides information on defensive driving, state traffic laws, dynamics of traffic collisions, tips on avoiding crashes and driving under the influence awareness.
Crashes are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in America, causing roughly 5,000 deaths annually nationwide, according to the CHP.
About 10 percent of those deaths are in California alone, the CHP said. There were 61,029 collisions involving teenage drivers statewide in 2009, and 346 resulted in fatalities, the CHP said.
Space is limited for the Jan. 9 class. For more information or reservations, call CHP Officer Kory Reynolds at 279-0103.
