St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Corporal James Stone, the Sheriff’s Office Alcohol Enforcement Coordinator, conducted assemblies during the week of October 21 on the hazards of distracted and impaired driving to 11th and 12th grade St. Mary’s County public high school students.
Each hour-long presentation focused on safely operating a vehicle and the risks associated with texting, talking on a phone, the distraction of occupants in a vehicle, and impaired driving. The presentation also brought home a few poignant facts:
- 16 year old drivers are more likely to be involved in a car accident than any other age.
- Occupants in vehicles 17 years of age are more likely to die in an accident than at any other age.
The primary contributing factors driving these statistics are alcohol, distracted driving, and inexperience. These informational assemblies were conducted in hopes of reducing vehicle accidents thus reducing injuries and deaths of the teenagers in our community.
The deputies of St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office believe education and prevention in partnership with St. Mary’s County Public Schools is more likely to reduce vehicle related injuries and deaths than enforcement efforts alone.
