DATE:    8/12/99
CONTACT: Kim Alexander, (864) 656-0664
WRITER:  Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Clemson's National Teen Conference a Roaring Success

     CLEMSON -- Over 400 teens from across the nation took time
out from their busy lives to attend a national conference on teen
driving safety July 9-13 at Clemson University.
     In the United States, automobile crashes are the number one
killer of teens.
     Participants and their advisers came from as far away as
Hawaii, Minnesota and Arkansas to the 42nd annual conference for
the National Student Safety Program (NSSP) to learn about 
traffic safety, substance abuse prevention and youth empowerment.
The National Student Safety Program is the youth division of the 
American Driver and Traffic Safety Educators Association(ADTSEA).
     Over 100 of the teens were from South Carolina, where teen
fatalities from automobile crashes are 34 per cent higher than
the national average.
     "The need to educate our young people about safety issues is
greater than it has ever been," said Diane Smathers, assistant
director of Extension and Research, family and youth programs. 
     Nationally known speakers included Dr. Ricardo Martinez, the
administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation. A 
former chief resident of emergency medicine at a New Orleans 
hospital, Dr. Martinez knows firsthand the tragic consequences of
automobile crashes.
     "This generation has the greatest opportunities -- you have
the greatest potential of anyone to create change, to touch
people nationally and internationally," Martinez said. "However,
this generation also has the highest death rate from car crashes
and injuries. Motor vehicle crashes cause one third of all deaths
for people ages 15 to 20."
     Clemson University's "Cruisers: The ATTITUDE" teen driving
safety program drew the conference to campus. Designed to be a
national model, Cruisers enhances teens' abilities to make sound,
safe driving decisions. ATTITUDE stands for Active Teens Taking
Initiative To Understand Driving Experiences. Cruisers includes a
year-long high school curriculum that focuses on driver
attitudes, knowledge and decisions by teaching life skills.
     "We were honored to have Dr. Martinez speak at this
conference. He understands that every time adolescents drive,
they are faced with life or death decisions," said Kim Alexander,
the Clemson Extension associate who developed and directs the 
program. "We want to give teens the skills to make safe choices."
     Alexander has firsthand knowledge of unsafe choices. When
she was a senior in high school, an automobile crash left
Alexander permanently paralyzed and in a wheelchair.
     "Kim's enthusiasm drew me to this conference," Martinez 
said. "She targets some of the best practices."
     He added, "I hope to expand NHTSA's youth focus. I'm glad
the different groups who have come to this conference want to do
more together: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Cruisers,
SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) and others."
     Conference participants came from 15 states: Arkansas,
Georgia Hawaii, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington
state and West Virginia.
     Presentations and activities appealed to teen interests and
learning styles: a realistic mock crash with crashed vehicles,
mock victims, the "Jaws of Life," ambulances, emergency
personnel, media and a coroner;  Motivational Media Associates'
"Be Excellent"; "Elvis and the Lawman: The Legend Lives for
Traffic Safety"; the Cruisers program; Drew Brown, a former "Top 
Gun" naval pilot; a concert; a street fair; and an awards banquet
that transformed Littlejohn Coliseum into a tropical paradise.
     "I especially liked the pilot, Drew Brown," said Trisha
Witthoeft, a rising freshman at Daniel High School in Central.
"He really got to us; he made me look at things. I hadn't paid 
attention to drinking and driving, because I don't drive yet.
     "Now I see that crashes aren't just something parents say --
they are a reality. They can happen to anybody, even if you're a 
passenger." 
     Witthoeft, who has a cousin who was seriously injured in an
automobile crash, hopes to start a student driving safety group
at Daniel.
     "These are very community-minded young people," Smathers
said. "Clemson's Cruisers program is a tool they can use to save
lives." 
     Alexander was impressed by the students' positive attitude,
participation, and motivation, since the majority of the
participants had planned far in advance and organized fundraisers
to pay expenses to attend the conference.
     "And then students came up to give us a hug and thank us for
providing them this opportunity," she said.
     Martinez encouraged the teens to take the flame of safety
back to their communities. "Your generation can be the safest,
healthiest group in history -- that's a great contribution to
your country."
     For more information about the Cruisers program, call (864)
656-0664 or (864) 656-5613.
                              END