FACTS FROM THE HIGHWAY SAFETY CARAVAN TO EFFINGHAM COUNTY

The Safety Caravan is conducted annually by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) in communities which have specific traffic safety issues. Seat belt use, speeding, DUI and teenage driving were among the reasons Effingham County was chosen for the event. Recent teen crashes and fatalities related to speeding and not using seatbelts prompted county and city law enforcement officials to band together and increase public awareness.

The Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute (GTIPI), a part of the University of Georgia's Cooperative Extension Service, assists GOHS with the educational component of the Caravan each year.

The Caravan reached more than 8,500 schoolchildren and teenagers in Effingham affected by Georgia's new Booster Seat law and Teenage Driving laws. Effective July 1st, children under age six are required to be in a child safety seat or booster seat appropriate for their height and weight and used according to the manufacturer's instructions. The new law also requires children under six to ride in the rear seat.

Effingham County, which includes the cities of Ebenezer, Guyton, Rincon and Springfield, is a metro-Savannah county with a population of almost 40,000. Effingham County schools welcome the event. "This isn't reading or writing, but there are few things as important as keeping our kids safe," says Dr. Michael Moore, Effingham County School Superintendent. "With more than 15 percent of Effingham's population under age nine, and more than 16 percent between ages 10-19, parents and their children greatly benefited from the information provided by the Caravan."

Child Safety Seat Checks across Effingham brought life-saving information to children and their parents. Educational programs covered Effingham's schools systems with information about teenage driving laws. Georgia lost 200 teenagers to traffic crashes last year. Parents looking for information about correctly installing child safety seats and the Unversity's teen driving course "Georgia Teens Ride With P.R.I.D.E. can find valuable resources online at GTIPI's website: www.ridesafegeorgia.org "P.R.I.D.E." stands for Parents Reducing Incidents of Driver Error. A schedule of P.R.I.D.E. classes is available at the site.

The caravan not only had an educational side, but an enforcement component as well. Law enforcement agencies across Effingham worked with GOHS and GTIPI to reinforce the education message. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety kicked off a Click-It-Or-Ticket campaign with "Hands Across the Border" in the Savannah/Effingham area the next week.

"Traffic crashes are the #1 killer of people ages 1 to 34" says Effingham Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie. "We support caravan 110 percent. If it saves one life, we've done a tremendous amount of work."

More than 50 volunteers from 20 agencies converged on Effingham to make caravan possible.