A teen safety task force met with county commissioners and state legislators last week in an attempt to curb teen fatalities in Johnston County.

The Teen Driving Safety Program Steering Committee was formed last fall after a year in which the county saw seven student deaths.

“It was exasperation on the part of everyone here in the county, especially elected and school officials, of asking what, if anything, could be done to slow this fatality rate down?” said Wade Stewart, chair of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners.

Stewart has his own personal experience in the matter. His 17-year-old son, a senior in high school, was killed in a single car accident in 1992.

“I personally suffer with all of the families,” said Stewart. “I have a real personal stake in this teen driving program, and we as Commissioners take the issue of teen driving safety very seriously. We are not going to brush it aside. We will keep it at the forefront.”

The county has seen 33 deaths since 2005. An additional three students have been killed so far this year.

The committee, which was composed of nearly 30 officials from a wide range of backgrounds, presented six recommendations to the Board at their May 3 meeting.

Charlie Parrish, a Johnston County native with a background in the Department of Transportation, served as the chairman of the committee.

“It was a big responsibility, but I felt really good about it,” said Parrish. “Two [of the recommendations] are out of the commissioners’ jurisdiction, but not out of their responsibility, or any of ours.”

Parrish and other committee members met with legislators Leo Daughtry, James Langdon and David Rouzer on May 5 to discuss the recommendations that would require state involvement. The committee is hoping state officials can reorganize and standardize driver’s education, as well as improve the graduated licensing program. They also called for the possible revocation of licenses for charges including speeding, texting or talking on a cell phone.

This was a recommendation that Stewart especially agreed with.

“There’s a saying that people’s habits change if you hit them in the pocketbook. Well, teenage drivers’ attitudes will more than likely change if you hit them with revocation of privileges to drive,” he said.

Stewart recalled growing up in the ‘60s, a time when he and other teenage drivers were licensed to drive the school buses. They knew that any infraction, even something minor such as a loud muffler violation, would lead to the automatic revocation of their school bus driver’s licenses.

“We needed that $28 a month income, and we knew there were repercussions for our actions,” said Stewart. “It has to have some bite and some sting to it. Teens will be more careful if they know there are some repercussions or consequences.”

The Board has already carried out one recommendation in appointing a Teen Driving Safety Coordinator. Derrick Duggins of Johnston County Emergency Services will serve in that role, attempting to coordinate with existing state agencies and programs, as well as setting up a web site to address teen driving issues.

Stewart emphasized the need to coordinate all the efforts in the county.

“Everyone needs to function from under the same umbrella,” he said. “There are a lot of well-meaning agencies out there aimed at solving this problem, but we could all be more effective if we would coordinate and go at this effort together.”

For Parrish and other committee members, their work is far from finished.

“There’s a lot to do, and right now, getting organized is our first priority,” said Parrish. He hopes to have another committee meeting this weekend to outline goals that can be completed immediately.

“Out of every single thing we have suggested, I would say that awareness is the most important – getting the teens involved,” said Parrish. “They’re the ones that are behind the wheel. Even if they wanted to be safe, if they don’t know how to be safe, that’s the key, and that’s where we need to focus.”

The committee also called for improving roadways in Johnston County and implementing new training methods for young drivers through the use of computer-based games, simulators and driving courses before letting them take to public roads.

Parrish said he had the DOT pull up all the teen-related accidents from the past four years and went through every single one at a committee meeting. According to Parrish, the number one culprit of the accidents was lane departure. He said he hopes their recommendations regarding driver’s ed would expand the process and give students further training before they actually get behind the wheel. One way of doing this would be cooperating with the Highway Patrol to train and practice driving through various scenarios students might encounter on the roadways.

“A lot, if not most, of their training, is done on a flat surface with cones,” said Parrish. “Every school has a parking lot. We could teach those kids the driving skills that the professionals use.”

Both Parrish and Stewart promised the committee would continue to work and carry out the recommendations.

“The committee is going to continue to be diligent and continue to do everything possible to help educate and train teenage drivers in such a way they will be more careful, more attentive and more serious when they get behind the wheel,” said Stewart.

As Parrish put it, “enough is enough.”

“This is happening on our watch, and as you get older, you start to look at ways you can give back,” he said. “I’m not here to save the world, but I feel good about this. We need to do better, and we found room for improvement. We’ve got to carry it through and make it happen, and we will one way or the other.”

To read the full report, visit www.johnstonnc.com and look under ‘News and Events.’

Johnston County Teen Crash Data

% of fatalities that were speed related

Johnston County 67

Statewide 60

% of fatalities that were lane departure related

Johnston County 79

Statewide 73

% of fatalities that occurred on two lane roads

Johnston County 88

Statewide 83

Johnston County ranks 15th in the state for injury crashes and second for fatalities (from 2005 – 2009).