2005

a skid, avoiding a head-on collision and how to get the best use from anti-lock brakes. He points out how dangerous 3,000 pounds of glass. rubber and stee l is going down the road." "That's basically what a vehicle i~ 3.000 pounds of glass. rubber and lit eel," he reiterated. ··And 1f you ha\e an irresponsible driver behind the steering wheel, there's no telling what that car is going to do. We have to look out for road with us." Robertson "aid he also stre~ses the Importance of "~ laying w1th1n the <.,peed lim11" dur– In~ hi\ pre\l'lltatiOn "Speeding " the numhe1 one cau... e of colli..,Hm~." he noted. "and 1m drl'l•lf., age 15-24.... pecJingi~thL lead– ing cauo;c forcolli,um' and death." a fact that gets the attention of clu" partiCI– pant\, ht! '> ~. mo~t of whom fall into that age category. "We get .,ome interesting look' when I mention that fact. e.,pe– cially when the discu!'>sion is about how alcohol and

ECCC Serves As Site For Defensive Driving Course

DECATUR-- Teenagers a' \\ell as adult!-> whore– cei\'e trcfL: tickets can have those violations re– mo,ed from their records b> taking a Defens ive Drh 1ng Cour-.t! held at East Central Community College in Decatur. The a'"ard-winning course was developed by the National Safety Council and is pro– vided by Mi.;,i,,ippi Safety Services. Cla\\C!'> are held once a month on Thur~­ day' from 5:30 to 9:30 p .m. in Nev.ton Hall. drug!'> affect people '" h~.·n they are operatmg a vc hid~:. Roh~:ll,un 'aH.l d1' cussions about cell phone use are also included in h1' presentation ...We get some interesting conver,a– tions on cell phone u'e a lot of po\111\C\. a lot of lll:!'

sible for while behind the steering wheel. We al\o £alk about the number hr . people injured and kilkd each year in traffic a1..t i I dents and how alcohol m'1d drugs affect driving ahll ity," said Robertson, who serves as fleet safety of ficer for the Mississ1ppi Band of Choctaw lndi.m., driving courses on the Rc'> ervati on. In addit1011 Robertson said he dis cusses emergency maneu vers such as dealing with -· nation and most crashe arc preventable when th dri,er u'e' the right strat eg1t!.... It·, e'peciall> sa that Mi ss i,,ippi has th higheq rate of 'Pinal cor rnJune' due to traffi ua,Jw, Thi.., d''" j, prn tt:t:.tinn fnr t:\'1.:1 \

Room 60. The next class is sc hedu led Thursday, February I(}. Additional classes are scheduled March 10, April 14, May 12 and June 9. Cost to take the class is $35. Billy Robertson ofPhiladelphia, who serves as class in– structor, sa id ··accident prevention" is the main focus of the four-hour course. which includes a video presentation. "We teach awareness, ~afety and provide information on what drivers are respon- .ago: 21 -,., litl {oili"pil•te the f1;11 1 h11111 l'lHII\l' lilll ha\C thl: \ IOI.IIIllll ICillOVI:d fl om their r~cord and the fine j, \va i, ed a' we ll. Those over 21 who take the class still have to pay the fine but the "iolation i~ not tncluded on tht'H record The De l'er....,i\'l: Dri \'ing Com'~: 1.., ll't~d nut inn\\ idl~ l'nr ap ,,~~,~intald y 1 . ~ 1111IHon dd\ i' ; co~cl1 yc.u·. Oldn JnVt·l,, .age)) and nldt'l, ~my al'o wke the cour.,e

Defemive Driving Class instructor Billy Robertson of Philadelphia explains the four R's (Read, Right, Reduce and Ride) during a recent class meeting held on the East Central Community College campus in Decatur. (EC Photo)

and teaches defen '>i VI.' the other drivers on the

and recei\'e a discount on their auto insurance premi– ums. Employers also use the course for empl~ees who utilize company ve– hicle~. and parents opt to have their teens take the cia,, to be better prepared for the hazards of driving. "Thi' i~ life-saving infor– mation for drivers of all ages:· 'aid Kay Brodbeck, executi\e director of Mis– sissippi Safe ty Services, which provides the class in near!) 60 location s throughout the state. "Mis– sissippi has the highest w L'. w 0 u (F) ~ a.. u :E (f) 0 0.. 1L 1.!:! o < 5 o ~ t: z t- t– ~ 0 Q ~ ~ <( u z - a.. -l (/) :J 5; CIJ f– u <( a.. ~

i., anything that distracts a person while operating a vehicle i., against the law. ••ntl we try to make stu– dents aware of that fact." he s tated...And that's ..,orne of the basic thing., we discus' in teaching the cla!'>s." Robertson ex– plai ned. "It's very impor– tant for people operating a vehicle to know what their responsibilities are and what they should or shou ld not be doing when the> 've got the steenng wheel in their hand~:· Roben,on \aid traffic violators under

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