NASCAR Driver Promotes Teen Safe Driving Rally
In conjunction with summer driving, graduation and prom season, over 500 Gallatin County High students, parents and community members attended a Teen Safe Driving Rally at the school in Warsaw Wednesday.
Kentucky State Police partnered with NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Cale Gale and RoadLoans, a leader in online automotive financing to provide a Teen Safe Driving Rally, driver of the No. 33 RoadLoans Chevrolet, was the keynote speaker at the event.
Gale, a rookie driver, shared the parallels of his inexperience and need for awareness and safety on the closed circuit race track versus the inexperience of teen drivers on the open road.
Parents were also invited to share in the Teen Safe Driving Rally to understand their responsibility in educating their student drivers. At the end of the rally, each student was provided a safe driving pledge that they could sign with their parents recognizing the importance of safe driving.
"It’s hard to believe that the leading cause of death among teenagers is not a disease, but a car," said Gale. "Through the support of RoadLoans and the Kevin Harvick Inc. team, we are able to bring a program like the Teen Safe Driving rallies to various areas with a high potential for teen fatalities due to reckless or careless driving."
KSP Troopers, Gale and student volunteers utilized Fatal Vision® goggles during the program to show students how alcohol impairment affects their driving skills. The goggles simulate impairment levels of blood alcohol content of .08 and .15. Troopers had Gale and students perform simple tasks like dribbling a basketball back and forth to show how alcohol can impact mobility skills.
Captain Tim Lucas, Commander for KSP Highway Safety Branch shared the stage with Gale challenging students to ‘drive like their life and the lives of others depended on it’.
"These students have a unique opportunity to make a real difference," said Lucas. "They can help influence on-the-road driving behaviors and save lives on Kentucky’s highways. It’s a very worthwhile goal that will require dedication and effort on their part, but it’s worth it if they save even one life.
It could be their own, their best friend, a neighbor or a family member."
In 2007, there were 3,191 collisions, 836 injuries and 10 fatalities involving teen drivers in northern Kentucky counties. One out of four motor vehicle collisions involve a teen driver, according to the American Automotive Association.
Gallatin High School principal, Roxann Booth served as Emcee for the event and was encouraged by the message that both Gale and KSP provided.
"It is imperative that our students are educated in safe driving. They need to be instructed by using real life examples and getting safety information from experts like Cale Gale and the Kentucky State Police," said Booth.
RoadLoans and Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) are partnering with several state police agencies, highway patrol departments and school districts to carry out the Teen Safe Driving awareness rallies in an effort to reduce deaths among teens and increase education about safe driving.
"Teaching kids at an early age about the dangers of driving will help minimize accidents in the future," said Chris Goodman, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of RoadLoans.
"We all have teenagers in our lives who we care about, and are continually looking for ways to get such important messages across. We hope that hearing from a rookie racecar driver like Cale Gale will give teens some insight into the racing world and help them take to heart the message that, whether it’s the open road or a closed circuit race track, driving always requires attention and safety."
