Raceway event focuses on safe teen driving

The No. 1 threat to American teenagers isn’t drugs or crime. It’s traffic accidents.

Car crashes claim more teenage lives than any other threat in America, according to Sacramento, Calif.-based Impact Teen Drivers. The nonprofit says that 75 percent of all fatal accidents are caused by reckless and distracted driving.

In Montana, more than 40 percent of traffic fatalities are teenagers.

Local teenage drivers can learn safer behind-the-wheel habits on Thursday at a parent/teen safety fair at Raceway Park. The event, which includes a safety fair and an opportunity for some young drivers to drive on the track, begins at noon.

The goal of the event, according to a press release from Impact Teen Drivers, is to stress the importance of parental involvement in teenagers’ driving experience and to help young drivers make better decisions behind the wheel.

To that end, Impact Teen Drivers and several organizations, including Montana Highway Patrol, Kalispell Police, Montana Department of Transportation and The Summit, will present information about safe driving.

The safety fair is open to all ages and will include everything from testimonies from parents who have lost teens in crashes to information about local programs intended to help keep children safe.

Parents also may register their teen drivers between the ages of 14 and 17 for a chance to drive on the track at Raceway Park. The on-track driving event, put on by California-based nonprofit Get Real Behind the Wheel, is designed to test teenagers’ driving skills as they navigate road hazards.

Bill McAnnally, president of NASCAR’s Bill McAnnally Racing, will provide autographed T-shirts and discuss the importance of safe driving for teenagers. NASCAR tickets will be available as prizes.

For additional information or to register for the event, call (800) 734-2247 or visit www.impactteendrivers.org .