The two-hour class will be held in Temecula from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 20, at Temecula City Hall, located at 41000 Main Street.

Parents are encouraged to attend.

“A teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year,” CHP Officer Mike Lassig said. “Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions. Education can substantially reduce or prevent These deaths and injuries by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors.”

According to Lassig, the California Highway Patrol program can help prevent these tragedies.

What is Start Smart?

The “Start Smart” course focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.

“Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience,” Lassig said.”The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver license (GDL) laws, cultural changes in today’s society, and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.

To register or take the class, please email Officer Mike Lassig at MLassig@chp.ca.gov.

For questions, contact Officer Mike Lassig by email or phone at (951) 466-4300.

A grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provided funding for this program.

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Starting today through Nov. 29, the “Slow the Fast Down” campaign will feature a series of safety messages on digital platforms, including social media, streaming and gaming services, and outdoor billboards. In addition, video public service announcements will run on broadcast and social media, as well as audio versions on radio.

The OTS hopes to raise awareness about the dangers of speeding, which has been a top traffic safety issue.

“It’s clear that there have been immediate changes in driver behavior with more drivers speeding, some at excessive and extremely dangerous speeds,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “This trend is alarming. We should be focused on protecting lives and the simple action of following speed limits helps keep ourselves and others safe.

Between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 of this year, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers issued 4,851 citations for speeding in excess of 100 miles per hour, a 93% increase when compared to the same period last year.

In federal fiscal year 2017-18, speed was a factor in approximately 31% of all fatal and injury crashes in California.

According to a 2020 survey conducted by the OTS and California State University, Fresno, nearly half of respondents believed it is acceptable to speed as long as it is not more than 10 miles per hour, but 78% believed it to be unacceptable to drive 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit.

“Speeding is a choice,” Director Rooney said. “We hope to shift social norms for speeding and encourage people to slow down on the road.”

To learn more about the campaign and ways to stay safe on the go, visit gosafelyca.org.

The OTS administers traffic safety grants that deliver innovative programs with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries on California roads. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to ‘Report Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1

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The thing is, most people arrested for DUI are hardly criminals in the real sense of the word. More often than not, they’ve never run afoul of the law, and they don’t have a criminal record anywhere.

In all likelihood, most DUI offenders—particularly the first-time ones—are simply people who made the mistake of drinking and driving.

It’s a good thing then that this mistake can be partially rectified by signing up for proactive DUI treatment programs.

How To Be Proactive About Your DUI Case

A DUI arrest is unfortunate, but it’s not the end of the world. Once you’re charged with a DUI, you have to face it head-on. Your actions got you where you are now, and it’s always best to accept your responsibility for them.

A DUI conviction will bring on consequences that include jail time and probation. Sometimes, a judge may choose to require DUI offenders to attend DUI classes as part of a suspended sentencing arrangement. This can also be done as a condition of the DUI offender’s probation.

However, you don’t have to wait for a court order to sign up for DUI school. If you’re being proactive about your case, then attending DUI classes before your case goes to court is one indication that you actually are. Your DUI lawyer might even recommend that you do such a thing.

What DUI Classes Do

Entering an alcohol education program voluntarily means that you are serious about bettering yourself, among other things.

Whatever program length you choose, your attendance in DUI classes will help you learn about alcohol dependency. You will learn to identify the triggers that lead you to drink and techniques to avoid activating those triggers.

DUI classes will also guide you toward making better and responsible life decisions, like how to deal with scenarios that could lead to another DUI incident.

If you’re attending DUI education classes, you also need to be prepared for lectures about how dangerous DUI can get.

At some point, you may hear from DUI offenders whose drunk driving caused severe injuries and deaths, and how their lives turned upside down after their conviction. Showing you gruesome images of drunk driving accidents is also par for the course in a DUI class.

Benefits of Joining A DUI Treatment Program

Recognizing and accepting that your DUI arrest is a wake-up call is a great way of being proactive about it. With your DUI arrest, you will get to realize that you may have an alcohol problem. DUI treatment programs will help you get started in that regard.

By attending DUI school, you will get to face your issues with alcohol the soonest possible time. You can even do one better by signing up for rehab at some point to reinforce everything you have initially learned and realized during your DUI classes.

If your license was suspended immediately after your arrest, completing DUI classes might help lift that suspension and enable you to drive again.

Proactively participating in DUI education programs may also help improve the perception the judge hearing your case might have of you.

Your willingness to spend time, money, and effort to educate yourself about the dangers of drunk driving may just help your DUI case.

Your DUI attorney can also use your completion of DUI classes to make a deal for reduced penalties in the event of a conviction.

Being proactive about your DUI case can help bring about better results.

Even when the court ends up convicting you on the DUI charge, you can take comfort in the fact that you have already completed DUI school, which will most certainly be among the penalties that come with the conviction. That would be one less thing to worry about, allowing you to focus your energies on fulfilling the court’s other orders.

Lauren Kunis – Stonewall Institute

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