Marisa Goldsmith, of Ellicott City, has never been in a car crash and at 17 she is hoping that will never change.

Statistics are stacked against her.

According to The National Traffic Safety Academy, it's not alcohol that kills more teens in this country than anything else. It's not guns. It's not violence. It's not drugs.

Vehicle crashes kill teens at a rate of 4-to-1 over any of those causes.

But Goldsmith, a senior at Centennial High School, feels much more confident as a driver following a two-day Collision Awareness Training course offered by the Howard County Police Department.

It was the first time the course was offered here.

"They had us doing all kinds of situations behind the wheel," said Goldsmith, who maneuvered through a series of driving courses, a police instructor riding along with her in her family's green 2002 Infinity, during the driving portion of the class Nov. 14 at the James N. Robey Public Safety Training Center, in Marriottsville.

The CAT program is owned by the National Traffic Safety Academy, a nonprofit organization. The program was created by Paul Burris, of Tallahassee, Fla., in memory of his son, Gregory, who was killed in a car crash in 1992 less than 24 hours after turning 17. Investigators determined he overcorrected when his vehicle drifted on the shoulder of a highway.

"For an experienced driver, it would have been an easy correction," said Capt. John McKissick, commander of the special operations bureau for the Howard County Police Department, who helped bring the program to the county. "But for a young driver who lacks experience, it could be a difficult situation."

The CAT program is designed especially for new drivers and teaches hands-on techniques for evasive maneuvers, emergency braking, cornering, backing, skid recovery, steering and acceleration.

"Mom and Dad, when they are taking kids out to learn to drive, they are not doing these kinds of maneuvers, such as extreme cornering or skid recovery," McKissick said.

First for Maryland

Although the program is offered in 12 states, Howard County is the first to offer it in Maryland. McKissick said County Council member Courtney Watson was approached by a constituent who had heard about the CAT program from a relative in Tennessee and wanted to know whether the program could be possible in Howard County.

"We did some investigation and talked to a lot of folks who have run this program," McKissick said.

The $195 course is held in two segments. The first is two to three hours of instruction in a classroom on a Friday night, followed by hands-on driving techniques with a trained instructor all day Saturday. Participants, who must be 16 to 19 years old and have a valid driver's license, must attend both sessions. All instructors are police officers.

Last weekend, Howard County's first CAT class was held with 16 participants, from high schools that included Marriotts Ridge, Centennial, Glenelg Country and Howard. On Friday, Lt. Michele Denton and Sgt. Chris Neubauer walked the students through a series of PowerPoint presentations and videos featuring crash test dummies being put through horrific scenarios. The officers spoke of the importance of auto safety devices such as seat belts and air bags; the dynamics and physics of driving; the use of all senses while driving; and reaction times, distractions, braking distances, and maneuvering ability among other topics.

"This is very much like what our recruits receive in the academy," Denton said. "It's not like drivers ed, believe me."

In Howard County so far this year, two homicides have been reported and 19 people lost their lives in fatal car crashes, Denton said.

Among the students in last week's class was McKissick's 16-year-old son, a new driver.

"I worry about him driving down the road," McKissick said. "In our business, we see so much. Frankly, it scares the daylights out of me."

Before the driving began on Saturday, each vehicle was inspected to make sure it had proper amounts of tire pressure, oil and brake fluid.

"Some of these kids have never been taught how to put air in the tires," McKissick said.

McKissick said he has been asked if the program will be made available to adults. Not for now, he said.

"Our focus is on young drivers," he said. "We are working with a mind-set usually of 'I am 16, I am invincible.' They have no concepts of danger or dying and the number one cause of harm for youngsters in America is car crashes."

For Goldsmith, it was time well spent.

"Absolutely," she said when asked if she would recommend the program to her friends.

"Only on one course did I ever knock over a cone," Goldsmith said.

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user comments (1)

user belovedcartoonmouse says...

As a young driver, I'd appreciate if you older drivers would stop hitting my car. I guess it's ok though, you have good insurance.

Posted 9:31 PM, 11.19.09

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