Teen drivers are three times more likely to be in a fatal automobile accident than seasoned drivers.

The risk of a wreck goes up when teens drive with other teens in the car.

Fatal car crashes involving teen drivers at night are nearly twice as prevalent as daytime rates.

These are sobering facts. Young drivers at the wheel, coupled with impairment or distraction, can often be a recipe disaster. But StreetSafe Lifesaving Driving Experience classes taught locally in Washington once a month are a tool for making a positive difference.

The classes, conducted on the campus of Washington High School, are typically geared for drivers between 16 and 24 years old, according to Lt. Kelly Cox of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

“We target that group because of their age and their inexperience,” said Cox, who oversees the hands-on driving portion of the course. Lt. Russell Davenport, a fellow Beaufort County deputy, handles the classroom training.

“We can really hammer home the dangers of distracted driving,” Cox said of the four-hour course. “We can talk to someone until we are blue in the face, we can tell them about our own experiences, but they can really see it once we put them behind the wheel. It makes more of a lasting impression.”

Some of the class participants are there because the course is often recommended by the courts for drivers with citations, according to Cox. Others are there because they or their parents see the class as an opportunity to produce safe, dependable drivers.

“A lot of parents do send their kids through the program,” Cox said. “They can appreciate what we do.”

Driving stations handle such varied topics as operating a golf cart while wearing special impairment goggles, tailgating and navigating a “skid pan,” or entering a curve while driving on wet pavement. Even the sport of cornhole has a place in the course; participants don impairment goggles and attempt to play the game while quickly learning how hand-eye coordination and depth perception are affected.

Between 70 and 80 students sign up for each class, according to Cox. Cost for new drivers or drivers just interested in polishing their skills is $30. Drivers who are there because of citations ante up a $110 class fee.

Interested drivers may sign up online at www.streetsafeus.com. Classes scheduled in Washington for the rest of the year will be held Aug. 13, Sept. 10, Oct. 15 and Dec. 10.