Defensive Driving Program Coming to Jeff City

The national free teen defensive driving program BRAKES (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe) will be at Jefferson City the weekend of Aug. 28-29, with sessions at Missouri EVOC Training Center, 2302 Militia Drive. 

The times are Saturday, Aug. 28 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.,  and Sunday, Aug. 29 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Utilizing vehicles provided by Kia Motors, the BREAKS program offers teens extensive behind-the-wheel instruction from professional trainers including current and former law enforcement officers as well as professional racing drivers, teaching the teens and their parents how to be safer on the road.  Exercises include Distracted Driving Awareness, Panic Braking, Crash Avoidance, Drop-wheel/Off-road Recovery and Car Control/Skid Recovery.

Car crashes are the number-one cause of death among teens, ending more lives every day than murder, suicide or disease.

The BRAKES graduates are 64 percent less likely to get in a crash within their first three years of driving.

The 501(c)(3) charity was founded by multi-time Top Fuel drag racing champion Doug Herbert, in honor of his two sons, Jon and James, who lost their lives in a tragic car crash in 2008. Herbert turned that personal tragedy into a life-saving mission that has trained more than 45,000 teens across the country.