By JoAnn Hellman

School may be out for summer but not driver’s education. Part of that education will continue to flourish throughout Whidbey until the end of the next school year thanks in large part to a $2,600 grant from State Farm Insurance Companies to the Impaired Driving Impact Panel of Island County.

Besides DUI impact panels, IDIPIC offers comprehensive safety classes to educate youth about the dangers of underage drinking, other drug use and ultimately driving under the influence. Classes range from elementary to high school and beyond.

The State Farm grant will specifically help to cover some of the cost and materials used in IDIPIC’s work with high school and middle school students.

“Think, Don’t Drink, Drug and Drive” has been a popular safety seminar provided to driver’s education classes since 2002. It currently includes an impacting video, discussion on indicators of impairment, walk-the-line with the Fatal Vision impairment goggles, a question and answer session and a verbal quiz.

In addition to this instruction, panel attendance is required for all Whidbey driver’s education students by local driving instructors, and they must attend with one of their parents. Students not taught through a driving school are welcome to attend as well with parent.

“Think, Don’t Drink Or Drug” has morphed from a lunchtime display and safety activity started in 2003 to a year-round classroom seminar available to middle school health or science classes as requested by teachers. By early June over 400 Students at North Whidbey Middle School had completed the new safety classes through Mikki Boyer’s health classes.

IDIPIC is very grateful to State Farm and all our “Partners In Prevention” for their support in our efforts for “safer kids, safer roads.”

Since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began recording alcohol-related statistics in 1982, among persons under 21, the number killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes decreased 73 percent from the record high of 5,215 in 1982 to a record low 1,398 in 2009. These fatalities account for nearly 13 percent of the alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in the U.S. (www.centurycouncil.org/learn-the-facts/drunk-driving-research#top).

IDIPIC is a 501c3 nonprofit established in 2000 by concerned individuals dedicated to the mission to deter driving under the influence and underage drinking in our communities through education and awareness.

Since it began, over 21,000 have attended its DUI/Underage Drinking prevention panels held in Oak Harbor, Freeland and NAS Whidbey. Over a third have been driver’s education students with parents and over a half were NAS Whidbey Island personnel for training. The remaining have been offenders and general public.

People have found the panels surprisingly entertaining and memorable. They are open to the public at no charge, and provide both “head” and “heart” knowledge that can benefit all drivers.

In addition, over 11,00 students at Whidbey schools have participated in IDIPIC safety classes over the years. Formore information on IDIPIC, its programs or to volunteer, please visit www.idipic.org.

JoAnn Hellman is director of Impaired Driving Impact Panel of Island County.