Press Release

• Tweet

For release June 27, 2005

A group of teen traffic safety activists will share the spotlight with a teen expert and a Richmond Police Department officer to explain the pressures and habits that make for unsafe teen drivers in the new episode of the cable TV show "Get Ready, Get Healthy."

The new episode, titled "Teen Driving Risks," will have its premiere broadcast at 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 27 on Contra Costa Television, which is Channel 27 for Comcast cable viewers and Channel 32 for Astound viewers. It will rerun at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, June 30 and July 7, and 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 4, plus other times in the future.

The show is produced through a partnership between the county health department, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS), and county public access station, and Contra Costa Television (CCTV). First unveiled last year on CCTV, it stars local TV and radio veteran Doug Spangler as host. Funding for the "Teen Driving Risks" episode was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"This episode is designed to tell parents about teen driving risks and give them tips to help make their teens better drivers," said Nancy Baer, manager of Contra Costa Health Services' Injury Prevention Projects. "Peer pressure and access to alcohol can make summer a very risky time for teens, and traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for teens in Contra Costa and nationwide."

The new episode features guests Lashonda Williams, coordinator of the Empowerment Through Action youth group for CCHS, plus Detective Bisa French of the Richmond Police Family Services Unit, and three teens from the ETA youth group.

Williams serves as a mentor and liaison to the ETA youth who attend Middle College High School in San Pablo. As part of this project, health educators from CCHS' TeenAge Program have been making presentations on safe driving and other teen health issues to students at other high schools in West Contra Costa.

The program will also feature two short videos made "by teens for teens" about drinking and driving. "The tips for safe teen driving are the same as for adults - wearing seatbelts, safe speeds, not drinking - but teens generally have less experience behind the wheel and so are more vulnerable," said Baer. "Parents need to talk to their teens about these issues, and also should model proper behavior when they themselves are driving."

For more information about safe teen driving tips call Jeff Gould, Youth Development Coordinator at the TeenAge Program, at 925-313-6437, or visit the CCHS website at cchealth.org and click on Services.

# # #