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South Carolina’s “Alive at 25” Campaign Making a Difference

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“Alive at 25” is a driver’s awareness course developed by the National Safety Council and focused on young drivers from the ages of 15-24. The course curriculum focuses primarily on these three areas:

  1. Defensive driving;
  2. Decision making; and
  3. Responsibility taking.

The South Carolina Chapter of the National Safety Council runs the “Alive at 25” program within the state and so far has over 79 high schools that are participating. The hard facts illustrated on the website are alarming:

  • Traffic crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities, accounting for 44% of teen deaths in the U.S;
  • Young drivers are involved in fatal crashes at more than twice the rate of all others;
  • Young drivers are involved in nearly 28% of all crashes, even though they represent only 14% of the nations’ licensed drivers; and
  • 172 young drivers in 2010 were killed in vehicle collision in South Carolina.

The Greenville News & Pickens County Courier recently reported that Pickens County School District will require students in the next school year that want to park at the district high schools to complete the “Alive at 25” course before hand. This would encompass the following high schools in the upstate:

The facts are hard to argue against helping teens in any way make better decisions on the roadways in this state.

Since the implementation of this program in 2007, the state’s death toll among drivers 15-24 has dropped by 38%.

Any life saved is worth the $35 for the cost of the course and 4 1/2 hours the program takes to complete. Ask your high school about this course or get a group of friends together and take this course. You never know-it could save your life or the life of someone else.

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Single Car Accidents Leave Drivers and Passengers with Few Options

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I often consult with clients that have been in a single car accident and want to utilize the insurance coverage they have paid on for years because they have “full coverage”. Well, liability insurance is just that, it goes in effect when you are at fault for causing someone or something injury and/or damages. Not when you cause yourself injury or damages. People would be running their cars into trees on purpose to get insurance coverage if that were the case.

Accidents happen and those in the “driver’s seat”, literally and figuratively, have a duty to the passengers in the car.  Passengers traveling in the car during a single car accident often times have claims against the insurance company of the driver.  “Fault”, or liability, is a legal term here used to proceed against the insurance company of the driver. Sometimes that driver is your friend, family member, and/or loved one.  However, their insurance premium is going to go up regardless of what you do because they are going to have a “claim” for property damage or simply for the accident.  Thus, you are causing no more trouble and are actually using resources that your friend, family member, and/or loved one has provided for people like yourself. Medical Payments/Personal Injury Protection is additional coverage everyone should have because it benefits every occupant in a car that has been injured, regardless of who is at fault.

Unfortunately there were more than a few single car accidents in Upstate South Carolina this past week as reported by The Greenville News and Anderson Independent:

Be careful out there on the roadways. Regardless of whether you are the driver or a passenger.