FORT MILL, S.C. – For the third straight year, Continental Tire the Americas has joined forces with the South Carolina National Safety Council (SCNSC) to sponsor the “Alive at 25” safe driving course. This year’s event was hosted by Clover High School, part of the York County School District, on Dec. 1. To date, with Continental’s help, “Alive at 25” has accommodated more than 63,000 students throughout South Carolina.
 
“We’re proud to continue our support of the ‘Alive at 25’ program,” said Bill Caldwell, vice president marketing and sales, Continental Tire. “Supporting ‘Alive at 25’ is a great way for Continental Tire to give back to our local community. It’s gratifying to know that we’re doing our part to help educate local youth about the responsibility of safe driving and in turn, helping to decrease the senseless deaths that happen on our highways."
 
“Alive at 25” is a young driver intervention program that zeroes in on drivers between the ages of 15 and 24 – the group most likely to be involved in fatal collisions. The program features a survival course developed by the National Safety Council, which is designed to prevent the No. 1 killer of teens – automobile crashes. The course is taught by off-duty deputy sheriffs, and municipal police officers and is delivered in one, 4.5-hour program that focuses on the behaviors and decision-making paradigms that young drivers and passengers display behind the wheel.
 
“Due to the statewide push for the expansion of partnerships and education, fatalities among young drivers have continued to decrease through South Carolina,” said Brooke Russell, executive director and COO of the SCNSC. “Since the program’s inception, 63,266 15 to 24-year-olds have completed the program and we have seen a 38 percent reduction in fatalities over the past four years.
 
“We contribute this largely to our amazing partners, like Continental Tire, and all of our local sheriffs and chiefs who are tired of knocking on the doors of [the loved ones of] individuals who die on our highways,” Russell continued.
 
To date, the “Alive at 25” program has been implemented in the Fort Mill, York and Lancaster School Districts in South Carolina, and the SCNSC is looking to build on the program’s success moving forward.