Dover – Teen drivers in Delaware will have the chance get behind the wheel and learn how to avoid collisions on the road, thanks to an innovative driving course being brought to the state by Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn and the Dover, Elsmere, Lewes, Milton, New Castle City, Smyrna and Wilmington police departments.

 

The Collision Avoidance Training program, developed by the non-profit National Traffic Safety Academy and offered in a number of other states, combines an evening of classroom instruction with a day’s worth of driving exercises where teen students will feel what it’s like when a car goes out of control – and learn what it takes to regain control.

 

The Department of Insurance is the statewide sponsor of the program. The seven local police agencies will provide instructors and locations for the training courses. Longtime Delaware defensive driving instructor Kerry Bittenbender is serving as a coordinator of the program.

 

“This is a unique program that will give teen drivers the skills they need to avoid collisions on the road and to avoid potential injuries and death,” Commissioner Denn said. “I have heard many good things about the CAT program, am proud to be able to bring it to Delaware, and am certainly proud to join local police to protect teenage drivers in this way.”

 

NTSA was founded and the CAT course was created by Paul Burris of Tallahassee, Florida, whose son died in an auto collision in 1992, the day after his 17^th birthday.

 

“One of the foundations of this training is that there are no ‘accidents’ – collisions on the road are avoidable but teen drivers often do not have the skills or experience to avoid them,” Burris said. “This course teaches teens about the physical forces exerted on a vehicle while driving and how those forces affect the handling of the car and the driver.”

 

“This program is an awareness and skill set education for both the overly confident teen driver and the hesitant teen driver,” Wilmington Police Chief Michael Szczerba said. “Hopefully this training will prevent some Delaware families from suffering the physical and mental trauma associated with a motor vehicle collision.”

 

The CAT program is sponsored by police and safety agencies in Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina, Orlando, Florida and other cities. Delaware will be the first place the training is offered on a statewide basis.

 

The cost of the course is $169 per student.

 

The first two trainings will be held in Dover April 4 and 5 and in Wilmington April 11 and 12, with a limited number of students in each class while the Delaware police instructors are trained by NTSA staff to teach the course.

 

There is still some room in the students or parents interested in taking part in the initial classes or in future classes should call the National Traffic Safety Academy at 1-800-656-6507 or go to www.trafficsafety.net .

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