CHP offers safe driving classes for teens, seniors

Start Smart class to improve teen driver safety

In an effort to reduce the number of traffic fatalities involving teen drivers, the California Highway Patrol will offer a driver safety education class for young motorists. 

The class, known as Start Smart, will take place 6 p.m. March 12 at the CHP Hollister-Gilroy area office, 740 Renz Lane, Gilroy. 

Teen drivers are found at fault in two-thirds of all fatal collisions they are involved in, even though they only comprise 4 percent of the state’s licensed drivers, according to a press release from the CHP. 

The leading cause of death for Americans age 15 to 20 is motor vehicle collisions, the press release continued. 

The Start Smart class targets new and future licensed teenage drivers between the ages of 15 and 19, as well as their parents or guardians, authorities said. 

At the class, CHP officers will discuss collision avoidance techniques, collision-causing elements, driver/parent responsibilities and seatbelt restraints. 

For more information and to reserve a seat at the Start Smart class, call (408) 848-2324. 

Age Well Drive Smart class for senior motorists

The CHP will offer at Age Well Drive Smart class for senior motorists and pedestrians in Morgan Hill March 21, in an effort to reduce traffic collisions and pedestrian deaths and injuries experienced by older Californians. 

CHP officers and senior citizen volunteers, in conjunction with the California Department of Motor Vehicles will offer the class 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 21 at the Centennial Recreation Center Senior Center, 171 W. Edmundson Ave., in Morgan Hill. 

Officers will discuss driving skills, rules of the road, age-related physical changes, safety features and devices for vehicles, health and flexibility, medications and effects on driving, and mobility options. 

For more information and to register, call the CRC Senior Center at (408) 782-1284.