Reality Education for Drivers program hosted in College Station

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - The Brazos Valley Injury Prevention Coalition and statewide initiatives through Texas A&M Agrilife Extention with support from TXDot hosted the Reality Education for Drivers, or RED, program at College Station City Hall Saturday.

The five-hour course is aimed at helping young adults make better choices when it comes to getting behind the wheel. Most of the nearly 40 students in Saturday’s class were referred by municipal judges or justices of the peace, but anyone can attend.

Topics in the course include the dangers of distracted driving, speeding, and seatbelt use among others.

Mary Jo Prince, a project specialist and presenter of the course said it’s all about saving lives.

“Because one bad choice can lead to another and we just like to open up eyes and let them see the reality of the perspective of driving,” Prince said. “We can’t change their behaviors. We give them the resources, the tools, the facts, the insights with which to make their own changes.”

The course also shares real testimonials from people who have been impacted by impaired driving, including Pamela Todaro, who is a program coordinator and presenter.

Todaro lost her son in 2014 in a drunk-driving crash.

“It’s not something that I would say that is therapeutic, what it is for me is trying to have something good come out of something that was so tragic,” Todaro said. “My son was a young kid, who just made a mistake, and if it can happen to me and my family it can happen to anyone.”

To learn more about the RED program click here.

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