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Lookin’ Out for Sherwood’s students

Program helps make teens and parents aware of the dangers of driving

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2006

As the school year approaches, parents and teens alike become more concerned with the driving done by teenager. From football games and homecoming dances to school plays and weekend parties, teens begin piling kids into their cars and making the best of their school year.

While they re cramming kids into their vehicles, most are unaware of the danger they are putting themselves in. And parents do not always know how many teens their child is driving.

Representative of Erie Insurance hope to be that annoying voice in he back of drivers’ minds telling them what they are doing is dangerous and potentially life-threatening.

Erie Insurance sponsors ‘‘Lookin’ Out,” a teen safe-driving program that began in 2000 because of the rising number of deaths and crashes among teens. The program’s motto is: ‘‘By teens, for teens.”

Alec Aronow of Aronow Insurance, a local Erie franchise, brought the program to Sherwood High School.

A graduate of Sherwood, he is sincere in his willingness to spend his time collaborating with the students and administration to make the program a success. This is the third year the program is being used at Sherwood.

With a grant from the school, Aronow is able to bring more activities to the students, which increases their awareness of their driving habits and how to handle themselves in certain situations.

The most effective and popular activity is the Lookin’ Out Safe Driving Bug, which is a Volkswagen Beetle that simulates a drunk driving experience in which the student driver must control the car as it accelerates through the parking lot.

Other activities include Lookin’ Out Idol, in which teens are quizzed on their knowledge of driving and safety habits, and a road safety course where they are taught how to check the oil, change a tire and other tips.

Lookin’ Out also sponsors an event during which students can write on a ribbon the name of a friend or acquaintance that was killed or injured in a car crash, and place the ribbons on a tree in the parking lot of the school as a reminder of how fragile life is and how easily it can be taken away.

Together, Erie Insurance, Aronow, and students and staff at Sherwood are trying to combat the very real problem of teen crashes with the hopes of making a difference in the lives of all teens.

If Lookin’ Out can make a difference in just one teenager’s life, then it has done its job.

Erie Insurance has taken the first step in preventing the loss of teenage lives; it is up to the teens themselves to take that final step and become more aware of heir driving habits and prevent themselves from becoming a statistic.

Amy is the student representative to Aronow Insurance and a member of the senior class at Sherwood High School.