West Fargo - The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) hosted a free, one-day safety event Wednesday for more than 120 drivers ages 14-18 at the Veterans Memorial Arena in West Fargo.
Vision Zero Driving Skills for Success gave teens the opportunity to drive through a closed course with various types of distractions, view the consequences of not wearing a seat belt through the rollover simulator and experience virtual simulators that focused on impaired and distracted driving prevention. Each scenario allowed the driver to feel or witness the real-life effect their choices can have in a controlled environment.
Other stations included teaching teens how to parallel park and what to do if their vehicle gets a flat tire through a car care clinic. In addition to these interactive stations, drivers also had the opportunity to participate in the North Dakota Safety Council’s (NDSC) Alive at 25 defensive driving course.
In 2021 in North Dakota, teen drivers accounted for 5.5% of all licensed drivers but were behind the wheel in nearly 21% of all crashes. Teen drivers in North Dakota were involved in 19% of fatal crashes for the same period.