Safe Driving Summit teaches students the dangers of distracted driving
Students heard from law enforcement, driving instructors and healthcare professionals about how driving distracted or impaired impacts everyone on the road.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Learning how to drive is a rite of passage for many teenagers, but it’s important for first time drivers to be aware of the risks before getting behind the wheel.
Driving distracted or impaired can have deadly consequences.
According to Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) spokeswoman Natalie Dale, there were more than 1,200 fatalities on Georgia roads last year.
“Distracted driving is killing people on our roadways every year, and that’s every age,” Dale said. “It really doesn’t discriminate.”
That’s why GDOT partnered with the Lutzie 43 Foundation to host the Safe Driving Summit for high school students in Macon.
Founder of Lutzie 43, Mike Lutzenkirchen, says the foundation was created to educate young drivers after his son, Philip Lutzenkirchen, was killed in a car crash.
“They’re inexperienced,” Lutzenkirchen said. “I know they haven’t gotten enough education around, ‘How do you act with a 4,000 pound vehicle that they’re driving or riding in, around an 8,000 pound tractor-trailer?’”
Lutzenkirchen says bad driving habits like holding a phone, eating while driving or driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol can impact not only the driver’s life but also the lives of passengers and pedestrians.
During the summit, students attended demonstrations, including a reenactment of a crash victim entering a trauma center. Students also heard from driving instructors, healthcare professionals and law enforcement officers, including Georgia State Patrol Lieutenant Maurice Raines.
“Any time you bring awareness, it makes people think about what they’re doing,” Lieutenant Raines said. “Are they buckled? Are they driving the posted speed limit and making sure they’re not distracted while they’re driving?”
Lieutenant Raines says any driver should practice safe driving habits including obeying the posted speed limit, removing distractions like cell phones, paying attention to the road and always wearing a seatbelt.
Volunteer with Lutzie 43 and mother of Philip Lutzenkirchen, Mary Lutzenkirchen, says talking about safe driving with young drivers and passengers is key to reducing roadway fatalities.
“These are crashes, not accidents,” Mary Lutzenkirchen said. “They’re things that all of us on the roads can impact, and I hope that that’s what they take from it: that their behaviors can make a difference on the roads, for them and other people.”
The Lutzie 43 Foundation hosts Safe Driving Summits in cities across Georgia every year.
You can take the 43 Key Seconds Pledge to not drive distracted by clicking here.
