Driving is an exciting time for any teenager, but sometimes they are not fully aware that driving goes beyond the wheel.  The Safety Village of South Dakota offers one program that teaches the ins and outs of driving and owning a car.

The C.R.A.S.H. Clinic is a four-hour long session that instructs teenagers basic car maintenance tips and how to handle potentially dangerous situations while behind the wheel of a car.  The clinic is held at the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds twice a year.  There is a fall and spring session.  The fall class focuses on winter driving while the spring course teaches teens how to drive on rural roads.

Roxanna McKenna is the Executive Director for the Safety Village, and she believes that it's necessary to teach the basic instructions without using their phones as a resource.  I recently sat down with McKenna for a future "Sunday Focus" segment.  To give you a preview, one of the biggest lessons the clinic emphasizes is learning how to read a manual.  "You can look things up online very easily.  If you're relying on your cell phone to help you with your car, you're not going to have a lot of help if you're phone can't connect to service," explains McKenna.

Car maintenance is an important topic discussed during the C.R.A.S.H. Clinic.  This includes checking under the hood of your car and how to change your tires.  McKenna states, "Nationally, about 70% of the roadside issues that we have are tire issues, whether that's a flat tire or a tire blows."

C.R.A.S.H. stands for “Car Repair And Safety Help."  "Safety” is definitely the top priority in that acronym! "South Dakota is the 48th state in the United States for unintentional deaths 19-years-old or younger.  We need to teach our kids how to be safe on the roads," says McKenna.

The C.R.A.S.H. Clinic for the fall is scheduled for Saturday, November 16th at 10:00 A.M.  Visit the Safety Village of South Dakota for more information

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