SAN ANGELO, TX- A new driving school is making its way into San Angelo thanks to recent crash trends in the area. According to figures by the Texas Department of Transportation, one person was killed every two hours and 29 minutes; one person was injured every two minutes and eight seconds; and one reportable crash occurred every 61 seconds.
An email sent to LIVE! stated, “SWERVE and 911 Driving Schools have analyzed the driving trends in San Angelo and have created a plan to open several locations and address the needs of the area's new and returning drivers.”
The 911 Driving School is estimated to open its doors in the late summer of 2017. Texas is one of the six states to have a 911 Driving School. Other states include Washington State, Colorado, Ohio, Florida and South Carolina.
This driving school will be exclusively taught by law enforcement and first responders, according to Joe Giammona, CEO of the Driver Training Group.
He said, “The unique seller proposition of the brand is knowledge, experience and trust. That’s what you get when you have law enforcement and first responders teaching the courses.”
The goal of this driving school is not only to teach the driving classes through experience, but to also bring the San Angelo community together, said the CEO.
“[First responders and law enforcement] can talk a lot about their personal experience,” Giammona added. “We want to make it more engaging and interesting so [drivers] learn the core basic concepts to drive and pass a driving test. When the kids see that these officers are doing this to help them be successful, it does bring the community together.”
Giammona expressed that it is horrifying that, in our country, there are a lot of teen fatalities each year. In hopes of reducing teen fatalities from driving, Texas was chosen as a state to expand the 911 Driving School.
“We think Texas is a great state to expand to. The different communities fit our brand perfectly,” said Giammona.
San Angelo was chosen because “it fits our demographic profiles for a business. That’s one of the things you have to look at,” Giammona explained. “Can a business be supported? Also, the density of students, and is there a need or other providers in the general area? We filter through, and that’s how we came up with San Angelo. It just fits with our company perfectly.”
Some may ask how law enforcement and first responders will be chosen to teach this class. Giammona explained, “We go to the local departments and offer the current law enforcement first responders an opportunity. We say, 'Hey, we’re coming into town and this is what we do; do you want to join our team?'"
Giammona stressed that the 911 Driving School is “trying to bring a community together with law enforcement and first responders," and making it a community effort to teach teens and drivers safety on the road."
"Ultimately, it’s to reduce roadway deaths,” he said.
LIVE! is following up with local law enforcement to determine whether they are on board with the 911 Driving School and its mission, and will provide an update when available.
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Comments
Maybe it is just me - but I believe the lack of Driver's Education is highly responsible for the horrendous driving in-abilities of local drivers. It isn't all distracted driving - people in San Angelo do not even know that they are supposed to yield to through traffic when they come on the loop. They think everyone is supposed to yield to them. Also, the lack of YIELD signs doesn't help the situation. Oh - I know - they do have parent taught driver's education in Texas - but it is an easy method to just sign it off without actually completing the course materials. Plus - if not careful, parents are training their children their own bad habits. I applaud them for doing this in San Angelo.
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