Driver’s ‘ed’ a big deterrent to distracted driving

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - April is designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Hattiesburg High School students are able to take a driver’s education course for nine weeks, giving them a long taste of what constitutes safe driving, in the classroom as well as the roadway.

“It’s very very important to take this course in high school because you get it before you actually get on the road,” HHS student Elijah Baker said. “When you get into college, you’re just now getting (out) and you haven’t had real world experience on the road or you haven’t had somebody teach you like the importance of it.”

The goal: Prepare students for the real world while focusing on safety and being a defensive driver.

“We need our parents to lead by example and we also need our students to, even when they’re riding with someone else to say, ‘Hey, put your phone down, hey pay attention to the road because everybody’s safety matters,” HHS instructor Archie Gibbs said.

The class requires each student to lo six hours on the road and 40 hours in the classroom.

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