Teen safe driving town hall scheduled for Saturday

Every year automobile crashes are the number one killer of U.S. teenagers; 6,000 of them are killed annually, and more than 300,000 are injured.

Driver error, speeding and distractions are the main causes of teen crashes, according to the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. Factors in 25-30 percent of all crashes, distractions like switching radio stations, changing a CD or interacting with friends impair a teenager’s ability to react quickly to changing traffic conditions.

Local Allstate Insurance agent Minerva Hendrix, Maricopa’s reigning salsa champion, knows these statistics all too well. She is hosting a Teen Safe Driving Town Hall on Saturday, June 30, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Hendrix’s goal is not to sell insurance but to provide information and awareness for Maricopa teens and their parents. Aiding her in that endeavor will be representatives from Maricopa’s police and fire departments as well as DPS. Hendrix is also trying to acquire a driver’s education car for use by Maricopa High School students.

The town hall will be held in the Santa Cruz cafeteria, just east of the Maricopa Unified District Office at 45012 W. Honeycutt Ave.

“It’s all about education,” explained Hendrix. “You can’t just pay the insurance and give the kids the keys to the car.”

“Parents are role models on the road, yet their driving behaviors send the wrong message,” said Hendrix. For example, 71 percent of parents surveyed admitted to talking on a cell phone while driving with their teens, and 26 percent said they had broken the law with their teens in the car, according to Allstate.

Saturday’s town hall is open to the public but is specifically targeting parents and their teens.

“This is a small community,” added Hendrix. “Any fatality would be huge.”

She hopes to see a large turnout Saturday for information that may save a teen’s life.

If you go:

What: Teen Safe Driving Town Meeting

When: Saturday, June 30, 10 a.m. to noon

Where: Santa Cruz cafeteria, east of the MUSD district office on Honeycutt Ave.