‘Alive at 25’ Defensive-driving Class Earns National Award

BOISE, Idaho (News Release) – The National Safety Council earlier this summer named the Alive at 25 program as the winner of its Astonishing Achievement Award for outstanding training efforts and hard work to make Idaho’s highways safer.

The award recognized the Idaho Transportation Department’s training efforts in the defensive-driving class.

“Thanks to dedicated instructors willing to present the class outside their regular hours, many lives have been saved on our roadways,” said Margaret Goertz, of ITD’s Office of Highway Safety.

Since 2012, Alive at 25 instructors have been Idaho instructor trainers in law enforcement representing 18 agencies statewide. In that time, more than 20,000 Idaho students have completed classes, and the program continues to grow. Initial training began in 2007.

“Idaho law enforcement instructors are the stars in this program, and student evaluations show this,” Goertz said. “The officers see the potential to help prevent crashes by influencing the driving choices made by young drivers. It is a very positive interaction with those drivers who are statistically most likely to be in a crash.”

ITD will be recognized Oct. 15 at the 2016 NCS Congress and Exposition in Anaheim, Calif.