QUINCY, ILL. -- Three Illinois schools in the Tri-States got some good news from the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The school have been selected to be a part of the 2010-2011 Operation Teen Safe Driving Program.
105 high schools across Illinois will participate in this initiative to create student led safe driving programs.
To help create the programs, each school will get two thousand dollars in grant funding from IDOT and the Allstate Foundation.
At the end of the program each school will present a report on what they did.
The school are broken up into 7 regions and the top five schools will be invited to a special safe driving event sponsored by the Ford Motor Company.
The schools in our area include: Quincy Senior High School, Beardstown High School & Griggsville-Perry High School
Below you will find the complete press release including a full list of all the school selected to particiapte in the program.
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The following is a press release from the Illinois Department of Transportation:
IDOT Secretary and Partners Unveil List of Selected Schools for 2010-2011 Operation Teen Safe Driving Program
Participating Schools Will Receive Grant to Create/Implement Student-Led Program
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig, state and corporate partners today announced the high schools selected to participate in the 2010-2011 Operation Teen Safe Driving (OTSD) program. This statewide safety initiative is designed for teens to educate their peers about driving responsibly in an effort to decrease the number of fatalities and injuries involving teenagers in Illinois.
In total, 105 high schools statewide were selected to participate in this innovative program, which utilizes Ford Motor Company Fund’s nationally recognized Ford Driving Skills for Life program. The selected high schools are equally distributed in seven regions across the state.
“We congratulate the selected schools for their dedication and commitment to traffic safety and look forward to the innovative campaigns students will create in the 2010-2011 OTSD program,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig. “We commend the efforts and hard work of these students and have full confidence they will continue to positively inspire their peers to make better driving decisions.”
“Ford Driving Skills for Life is pleased to continue to support this lifesaving program for the fourth straight year. Teens are facing an increased number of hazards on the road, including distractions, and it is imperative that resources are provided in aiding safe driving choices. Ford Motor Company Fund is committed to providing free ongoing training to not only teens, but drivers of all ages," said Jim Graham, Manager, Ford Driving Skills for Life program.
Additional teen safe driving programs contributing to the reduction in teen motor vehicle fatalities include the latest sweeping changes to Illinois’ teen driving laws initiated by Secretary of State Jesse White. Effective January 1, 2008, these changes gave Illinois one of the best graduated driver license programs in the nation. Graduated licensing gives teens more time to obtain valuable driving experience while under the watchful eye of a parent or guardian (doubling the practice time that young drivers must spend with a parent or guardian from 25 to 50 hours before the teen can obtain an Illinois driver’s license), limits in-car distractions and requires the teens to earn their way from one stage to the next by avoiding traffic convictions. Leading national traffic safety experts have lauded Illinois’ graduated driver license program one that will save lives.
The selection process for the Operation Teen Safe Driving program requires students to identify issues relating to traffic safety in their community (i.e., underage drinking, driving unbuckled, impaired and distracted). Students are required to provide information explaining how they would combat the traffic safety problem and implement a teen awareness program in their school and community.
All of the selected schools will receive $2000 in grant funding from IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety and The Allstate Foundation. The selected schools develop and implement a peer-to-peer based program and present a report at the conclusion of the program. Winners are selected from each region and each winning school will receive prize money to host a post-prom party.
The top five schools from each region will be invited to send students to a “Driving Skills for Life, Ride and Drive” event which is sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund. Students will observe professional drivers on two separate courses demonstrating critical driving skills. Teens will then have the opportunity to drive the same courses with the professional driver sitting in the passenger seat to provide tips and assistance.
“Saving lives and preventing injuries among teen drivers is a priority for The Allstate Foundation and our teen safe driving signature program. We congratulate the winning schools and look forward to the great results from their campaigns,” said Bill McGrath, Regional Sales Leader for the Midwest Region of Allstate Insurance.
“The strengthened graduated driver licensing (GDL) law that resulted from the recommendations of the Teen Driver Safety Task Force makes Illinois' teen driver program one of the strongest in the nation and, more importantly, is saving lives," said Secretary of State Jesse White. “I am encouraged that teen driving deaths have decreased by 56 percent since the law took effect in 2008. This law, in conjunction with the extremely effective and successful Operation Teen Safe Driving initiative, is having the intended impact on teen driving safety. My congratulations to the schools selected to participate in this important program. Working together, we can save more lives and make Illinois roads safer for all of us.”
The Office of the Governor, the Illinois Secretary of State, IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois State Board of Education, in partnership with the Ford Motor Company Fund and The Allstate Foundation are all supporting the Operation Teen Safe Driving program. Also supporting the Illinois campaign are the Governors Highway Safety Association and SADD (“Students Against Destructive Decisions”).
The schools selected in each region are as follows:
Region One
Dwight D. Eisenhower High School Blue Island
Oak Forest High School Oak Forest
AQSA High School Bridgeview
William Fremd High School Palatine
Roberto Clementa Community Academy Chicago
Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School Chicago
Evergreen Park Community High School Evergreen Park
Bremen High School Midlothian
Notre Dame College Prep Niles
Alan B. Shepard High School Heights
Antonia Pantoja Alternative High School Chicago
Prosser Career Academy Chicago
John Hersey High School Arlington Heights
Tinley Park High School Tinley Park
Wells Community Academy High School Chicago
Region Two
Bolingbrook High School Bolingbrook
Lincoln-Way West High School New Lenox
Marian Central Catholic High School Woodstock
Crystal Lake Central High School Crystal Lake
Gardner South Wilmington H.S. Dist 73 Gardner
McHenry East High School McHenry
Dundee-Crown High School Carpentersville
Johnsburg High School Johnsburg
Lincoln-Way Central High School New Lenox
Glenbard East High School Lombard
Zion Benton High School Zion
Vernon Hills High School Vernon Hills
Glenbard West High School Glen Ellyn
Glenbard South High School Glen Ellyn
H.D. Jacobs High School Algonquin
Region Three
Al Wood High School Woodhull
Erie High School Erie
Ottawa Township High School Ottawa
La Salle Peru High School LaSalle
Byron High School Byron
Winnebago High School Winnebago
Alleman Catholic High School Rock Island
La Moille High School La Moille
Pearl City High School Pearl City
Galena High School Galena
Pecatonica High School Pecatonica
Sandwich High School Sandwich
West Carroll CUSD #314 High School Savanna
Sterling High School Sterling
Chadwick/Milledgeville High Schools Dist. 399 Milledgeville
Region Four
Beardstown High School Beardstown
ROWVA High School Oneida
Fieldcrest High School Minonk
Triopia Junior-Senior High School Concord
Avon High School Avon
Farmington Central High School Farmington
Tri-City High School Dist #1 Buffalo
Williamsville High School Williamsville
Pawnee High School Pawnee
Southeast High School Springfield
Riverton High School Riverton
Pekin Community High School Pekin
Eureka High School Eureka
Griggsville-Perry High School Griggsville
Quincy Senior High School Quincy
Region Five
Central High School Clifton
Manteno High School Manteno
Warrensburg-Lathem High School Warrensburg
Oakland High School Oakland
Donovan High School Donavan
Heyworth High School Heyworth
Cissna Park School Cissna Park
Champaign Central High School Champaign
Saint Joseph Ogden High School Saint Joseph
Tri-Valley High School Downs
Tuscola Community High School Tuscola
Centennial High School Champaign
Hillside Bethel Christian High School Decatur
Watseka High School Watseka
Herscher High School Herscher
Region Six
Trico Unit District # 176 Campbell Hill
Belleville West High School Belleville
Murphysboro High School Murphysboro
Elverado High School Elkville
Roxana High School Roxanna
Mascoutah High School Mascoutah
Cairo High School Cairo
Waterloo High School Waterloo
Mulberry Grove High School Mulberry Grove
Red Bud High School Red Bud
Althoff Catholic High School Belleville
Civic Memorial High School Bethalto
Granite City High School Granite City
Marquette Catholic High School Alton
Alton High School Alton
Region Seven
Herrin High School Herrin
Robinson High School Robinson
Fairfield Community High School Fairfield
Salem Community High School Salem
Wayne City High School Wayne City
NCOE High School Norris City
Gillespie High School Gillespie
DuQuion High School DuQuoin
Benton Consolidated H.S. # 103 Benton
Patoka High School Patoka
Cisne High School Cisne
Hamilton County Senior High School McLeansboro
Newton Community High School Newton
Johnston City High School Johnston City
Joppa High School Joppa
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