Freehold Township High School Tops In Driver Safety

Freehold Township High School is among the top 10 leaders in teen driver safety nationwide, according to a school district release.  

The school was selected by Project Ignition, a service-learning teen driver safety program sponsored by State Farm insurance company and coordinated by the National Youth Leadership Council, the release says.

The school, along with 24 others, in January received $2,000 to start an awareness campaign aimed at reducing risky driving attitudes and behavior. Because of their success, the school will receive $2,500 in the next school year to expand the campaign, the release says.

Students visited health classes to present peer educational lessons on passenger safety. They also established a Twitter account -- @patspassenger -- to share information about how to stay safe while driving or riding in a car as a passenger, the release says.

"Our campaign has expanded the focus for safe driving education beyond the drivers and helped to empower passengers to take responsibility and stand up for their safety in a car," Jamie Rattien, Students Against Drunk Driving advisor, said in the release.

The project also included a research component, where the students conducted surveys after their peer educational lessons. The survey results indicated an increase in the number of students who were willing to speak up when experiencing feelings of discomfort while riding in a vehicle. Many of them also provided responses that indicated an increase in their willingness to volunteer as designated texters, the release says.

Students will receive $5,000 to participate in the 25th Annual National Service-Learning Conference, hosted by the leadership council, April 9 - 12, 2014 in Washington D.C. There, they will have an opportunity to showcase their work to other students and educators, the release says.

To see the complete list of top ten schools, visit http://ny.lc/16JTraQ.