Teen drivers: Completing this class could help lower your insurance bill

The California Highway Patrol Gilroy-Hollister Area Office is offering Start Smart, a driver safety education class, to future and newly licensed drivers and their parents.
The program aims to help teens between the ages of 15-19 become aware of the responsibilities that accompany the privilege of being a licensed driver. The primary objective is to provide them with an understanding of how poor choices behind the wheel can affect the lives of numerous people.
Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20-year-olds. According to Public Information Officer Erica Elias of the CHP, the Start Smart program began in 2002 in Monterey due to a spike in the amount of car accidents in the area at that time.
“The CHP felt that we were loosing too many teens to DUI-related wrecks,” Elias said. “We’ve been holding Start Smart in the Gilroy area about once a month for several years now.”
Elias said that sometimes juveniles who have received traffic citations are able to attend Start Smart in place of completing traffic school. Also, at the end of the program, participants receive a certificate proving completion that may lower the cost of the teen’s insurance bill.
In an effort to reduce the number of teenage injuries and deaths resulting from traffic collisions, CHP officers will discuss traffic collision avoidance techniques, collision-causing factors, driver/parent responsibilities, and seatbelt usage during Start Smart. In addition, testimonies will be provided by officers who have investigated fatal collisions involving teens and by family members who have lost love ones in traffic collisions.
The class will be held on August 28th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 740 Renz Lane Gilroy, CA 95020. Please call the CHP office and reserve a seat for the Start Smart presentation at: (408) 848-2324.