With 17 lives lost on Georgia roads during the Thanksgiving holiday period, timely special event highlights the dangers of distracted, impaired and unsafe driving
ATLANTA – December 3, 2024 – The Lutzie 43 Foundation, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT), will host a Safe Driving Summit at Macon County High School in Montezuma, Georgia on December 5. 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 Macon County event came about due to the interest of Eddie Hosley, Macon County Coroner-elect, who learned about the successful impacts of the Safe Driving Summits in other areas of the state at a training class. He immediately reached out to the Lutzie 43 Foundation to plan the event in Macon County and will attend the Safe Driving Summit to introduce the keynote speaker, Lutzie 43 Foundation Executive Director Mike Lutzenkirchen.
During the keynote address Lutzenkirchen 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 truck drivers.
“The Safe Driving Summit in Macon 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. “We just learned that 17 lives were lost on Georgia roads during the Thanksgiving holiday period, so this event is timely in bringing the community together to educate and empower students with the knowledge and tools they need, including the 43 Key Seconds Safe Driving Initiative.”
“After hearing about the Safe Driving Summit and its impact in other communities, I knew young drivers in our area could benefit from this information on making life saving-decisions behind the wheel,” said Hosley. “We don’t want to see young people end up in trauma centers or worse yet in the morgue, so let’s do everything we can to teach them the dangers of driving unsafely and ways to prevent crashes in the first place.”
All high school students 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 encouraging them to take the time to make good decisions to stay safer,” added Hosley.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 5 at Macon County High School.
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.
