Empowering Young Drivers: Special Event Highlights the Dangers of Distracted and Impaired Driving
ATLANTA – November 18, 2024 – The Lutzie 43 Foundation, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT), will host a Safe Driving Summit at Oconee Fall Line Technical College – South Campus in Dublin, Georgia on November 19. The summit aims to educate local students about the critical importance of making safe driving choices by sharing impactful stories and lessons from real-world incidents and introducing students to the 43 Key Seconds Safe Driving Initiative.
The Laurens County event came about due to the interest of several local Laurens education officials as well as Lynn Grant, Trauma Program Director/Emergency Management Director for Fairview Park Hospital, who learned about the successful impacts of the Safe Driving Summits in other areas of the state when she attended a similar event last year in Sandersville. She assisted the Lutzie 43 Foundation to coordinate the event in Laurens County and will be a presenter at the Safe Driving Summit.
The event will feature a keynote address from Lutzie 43 Executive Director Mike Lutzenkirchen, who will share the personal story of his son Philip’s tragic death due to a distracted and impaired driving crash in 2014. Additionally, attendees will hear from public safety specialists, Georgia DOT officials and professional drivers.
“The Safe Driving Summit in Laurens County is a crucial part of our mission to inspire safer driving habits among young drivers across the state 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.”
“After seeing the Safe Driving Summit in action, and particularly the trauma breakout sessions, I knew young drivers in our area could benefit from this information,” said Grant. “The best way to keep our youth out of the trauma centers is to teach them how to prevent crashes in the first place.”
High school students from East Laurens High School, West Laurens High School and Dublin High School will participate in interactive breakout sessions led by first responders, law enforcement officers, trauma and rehab care professionals and representatives from the trucking industry. Trucking and driving professionals will offer their unique perspectives on road safety, sharing insights with students and giving them the opportunity to step inside a big rig to experience the driver’s vantage point. These breakout sessions will offer firsthand insights into the devastating consequences of unsafe driving behaviors and equip students with practical strategies to avoid such outcomes.
“By exposing our young drivers to these life-saving lessons and encouraging them to use the 43 Key Seconds safe driving initiative to ensure they are ready to drive, we are giving them additional tools to stay safer,” added Grant.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at Oconee Fall Line Technical College – South Campus.
ABOUT LUTZIE 43 FOUNDATION:
The Lutzie 43 Foundation aims to encourage and empower people to be positive ambassadors for safe driving through character development, mentorship and real-world application. The Lutzie 43 Foundation was established in loving memory of former Auburn football player Philip Lutzenkirchen, shortly after he lost his life in a car accident in 2014. In his memory, the foundation’s 43 Key Seconds safe driving initiative aims to create the first nationally-recognized symbol for distracted, impaired and unsafe driving awareness and prevention. The foundation’s motto for all is to “Live like Lutz, Love like Lutz, and Learn from Lutz,” reflecting its desire to help others live out the many positive character attributes that Philip displayed while learning from the circumstances that led to his death. For more information, visit lutzie43.org.
