HANCEVILLE — With one of the highest ratios of teen roadway fatalities in the state, Winston County was the perfect for the inaugural Safe Driving Summit in Alabama.
The Alabama Department of Transportation and the Lutzie 43 Foundation kicked off the new collaboration last week for Winston County Schools.
Students from Addison, Lynn, Meek and Winston County High Schools took part in the event that aimed to educate young drivers about the critical importance of making safe driving choices.
ALDOT and the Lutzie 43 Foundation worked to broaden the part of the Drive Safe Alabama outreach aimed at young drivers. Drive Safe Alabama is a public information initiative from ALDOT that aims to reduce crash-related injuries and fatalities on Alabama’s roadways.
“We look forward to the positive impact that our Drive Safe Alabama initiative and the Lutzie 43 Foundation can achieve together, as we implement new programs to teach teen drivers the importance of safe driving,” said Allison Green, Drive Safe Alabama coordinator with ALDOT. “Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States and Alabama.
“Through the immersive learning experiences at the summit, we can help reduce the number of roadway fatalities and the resulting anguish so many families experience.”
The Winston County Schools event at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville featured a keynote address from Lutzie 43 Foundation Executive Director Mike Lutzenkirchen, who shared the story of the tragic death of his son Philip.
Philip was a former football standout at Auburn University who wore No. 43. He died due to a distracted, impaired and unsafe driving crash in 2014.
Additionally, attendees heard from ALDOT officials, public safety and healthcare specialists and professional drivers.
“This first Safe Driving Summit in Alabama is a crucial part of our mission to inspire safer driving habits among young drivers across the country to prevent distracted, impaired and unsafe driving,” said Lutzenkirchen. “This event brings together the community to educate and empower students with the knowledge and tools they need, including the 43 Key Seconds safe driving initiative, to make life-saving decisions behind the wheel.”
The Alabama collaboration came about following the impact of Safe Driving Summits in Georgia schools through Lutzie 43 Foundation’s partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Since its inception in 2022, the Georgia partnership has hosted 21 Safe Driving Summits, engaging with 81 high schools and welcoming more than 14,300 students to foster safe driving practices among young drivers. Representatives from Georgia’s Motor Carrier Compliance Division and Georgia State Patrol joined their Alabama counterparts for this first Alabama event.
During the Hanceville summit, students participated in interactive breakout sessions led by first responders, law enforcement officers, healthcare professionals and representatives from the trucking industry.
Trucking and driving professionals offered their unique perspectives on road safety, shared insights with students and gave them the opportunity to step inside a big rig to experience the driver’s vantage point.
The breakout sessions offered firsthand insights into the devastating consequences of unsafe driving behaviors and provided students with practical strategies to avoid such outcomes.
“By sharing these life-saving lessons with young drivers, we are giving them additional tools to stay safer on the road and protect themselves and others,” said Green.
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