Special to The Post-Searchlight

In an effort to involve Georgia students in reducing injury and death to young drivers, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) has awarded a $2,500 highway safety grant to Bainbridge High School in Bainbridge, to enhance their existing Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter. GOHS believes that student input into the solution will help alleviate the problem of teen driver fatalities in Georgia.

“The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is committed to changing the tragic trend of teen driver deaths in Georgia,” said GOHS Director Bob Dallas. “We’re here to make changes and I believe the SADD students at Bainbridge High School can help us achieve the goal of lowering teen driver, crash, injury and fatality rates statewide. Who better to address the challenges and dangers of teen driving than teens themselves? The fact is that the rate of teen driver deaths in Georgia and across the country needs to change and it needs to change now. I’m confident these SADD students can convince their peers to be safer, more conscientious drivers.”

By having a comprehensive effort statewide, GOHS/SADD plans to cover teen driving issues including safety belt use, speed, inexperience, and impaired driving in a coordinated manner. Participating schools will focus on a variety of highway safety issues throughout the school year.

The Bainbridge High SADD chapter sponsored Red Ribbon Week activities; participated with Decatur County Sheriff Department in a Traffic Enforcement roadblock and hosted a Safety Day with local emergency personnel for high school students. Also planned throughout the year are campus seat belt checks, more roadblocks, and activities for prom and graduation.

In addition, the BHS SADD chapter will send students and advisor to a statewide leadership-training program this February along with the representative from other high schools that received similar grants.

For more information on how to obtain a $2,000 SADD grant, contact Eshon Poythress at (404) 657-1955 or epoythress@gohs.ga.gov.