(COSTA MESA, April 24, 2009) – The Automobile Club of Southern California will host another of its popular regional Teen Driver Safety Fairs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 9, in Orange County. The fair will feature a teen driver “car fit” to ensure that young drivers are “correctly fitted” to a vehicle for driving safety and road visibility.
The free event is part of the Auto Club’s 2009 Automotive Fair. It will be held at the Auto Club’s Administrative Offices parking lots in Costa Mesa, 3333 Fairview Road, 92626. The teen event is focused on helping families learn about community organizations that provide information and education for young drivers and their parents. The fair also will offer beverages, music, contests, and giveaways like gas cards, and sporting event tickets. Parking is also free.
The teen driver safety “fair within a fair” aims to help families learn about community organizations that provide information for young drivers and parents. The teen driver fair also will feature “car fits” with Auto Club Driving School instructors showing teens and parents safety-belt, foot pedals, mirrors and seat-height adjustments to ensure young drivers achieve a good safety fit before they drive. “Most teens practice in the family vehicle and will need to make these adjustments each time they get behind the wheel,” said the Auto Club’s Driving School Manager Kathy Downing.
Teens should wear closed-toe shoes since the teen fair will feature a rock climbing wall that they can scale and which demonstrates a drop similar to the impact of a 20 mph car crash. A vehicle donated by a Southern California family whose teen was killed in a crash also will be on display.
“Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of deaths for teens,” said the Auto Club’s Community Programs and Traffic Safety Team Lead Anita Lorz. “To help reduce these tragedies, the Auto Club is hosting traffic safety fairs to share the most up-to-date information with families to prepare their teen driver for the road.”
The Auto Club Driving School and community groups will offer teen-driver topics, including a presentation on California’s Graduated Driver Licensing law. Participants include the Calif. Depts. of Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Motor Vehicles, local police, JourneySafe, OC Friday Night Live Partnership, OC Sheriff’s Dept., Project PATH, Safe Moves, UCI Medical Center Trauma Services/Injury Prevention Program and others. Teen fairgoers will receive a Driver-ZED, an interactive CD that helps teens become safer drivers. For information about the Auto Club Driving School, its 18 locations, costs and class registration, call 1-877-428-2277 and press 5.
