CONCORD – More teens are dying on North Carolina’s roads, that’s according to the NC Highway Patrol. And, officials believe the pandemic is partly to blame.
Safety leaders are taking steps to make sure teens are safe while driving. The teen driving defensive program out of Concord known as B.R.A.K.E.S, is teaming up with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol to make roads safer.
142 teens lost their lives on North Carolina roads in 2020, that’s an increase of 12 percent compared to this time last year, and that’s despite the pandemic.
Officials say with fewer people on the roads, many teens are driving distracted and faster.
“We’ve gotten reports from highway patrol there’s actually teens driving down the road while taking Zoom classes on their phone,” says Doug Herbert, Founder of B.R.A.K.E.S, which stands for ‘Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe’.
Herbert hired a few of the best drivers around to help teach teens the rules of the road. Many instructors are members of law enforcement, secret service agents, and even race car drivers.
“They really make it fun to teach these teenagers safe driving skills,” says Herbert.
B.R.A.K.E.S gathers statistics from the state highway patrol about what causes teens to crash, and develops exercises to help train them how to avoid those situations.
As a father of a new driver your program has assured me that I can feel more comfortable letting her behind the wheel. Thank you so much for your mission to keep our kids safe on the roads.... Click to Read More!
-Mark
My 17 year old son was driving on the freeway yesterday when his tire blew. He said the Brakes class he took last month taught him how respond. No injuries or accident. Tire was less than a year old. Thank you for your class. I am grateful that you offer these classes to teenage drivers.... Click to Read More!
-Katie P