Here’s a class that every teen driver should take, and if they do, they may just save their life.

The CHP is offering a two-hour class for teens 15 to 19 and their parents about the rights and wrongs of driving and how to avoid crashes and tickets.

Thousands of collisions involving teens happen every year in California. The CHP said that from 2007 through 2009, there were more than 31,000 fatal and injury crashes involving at least one teen driver between the age of 15 and 19.  In those crashes, 743 people were killed and more than 48,000 were injured.  

The local CHP offers the “Start Smart” class from 7 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday at its Rohnert Park office. If you’re interested, call the local CHP at 588-1400.

CHP Officer Jon Sloat said the class begins with discussions about the consequences of unsafe driving, with parents of youths killed in crashes participating, and then goes into safe driving tactics to help teens avoid crashes and being ticketed for traffic violations. He said the in-class only program is vital to teens because high schools don’t offer driver’s education.

The program is funded by a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety.

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