Expert Calls for Investment of Half-Penny Per Gallon of Gas to Fund Massive Driver Education Programs

National Road Safety Foundation says program will save thousands of lives yearly

NEW YORK, April 21 -- The president of the National Road Safety Foundation today issued a call for Americans to invest a half-cent per gallon of gasoline, to fund a massive nationwide program to educate new drivers and retrain experienced motorists.

Fraydun Manocherian, who began his advocacy for safer roads in 1952 and founded the non-profit National Road Safety Foundation in 1962, notes that during the time we've lost 2,375 soldiers in Iraq, 125,000 Americans of all ages have died on our roads.

"Automobile crashes are the number one cause of death for Americans up to age 33," Manocherian said. "An overwhelming majority of them are preventable." NHTSA reports more than 42,000 people are killed in crashes annually and hundreds of thousands more injured, at a cost in excess of $250 billion.

The National Road Safety Foundation estimates the new program, to be overseen by NHTSA, would cost the average driver less than 20 cents a month. The cumulative amount raised could total $475 million a year, to fund programs that, based on past experience, can reduce crashes by as much as 10 percent.

"Even if the effort reduced crashes by only one percent rather than ten that experts estimate," Manocherian noted, "more than 400 lives could be saved every year, and the American public would save $2.5 billion in crash-related costs. For an annual investment of less than $3 per driver, our society can save billions, and families can be spared the grief."

The program would bring uniform driver education programs back into high schools, reducing fatalities in the highest-risk group of drivers ages 16 to 25.

Programs would also be provided to encourage retraining of experienced drivers.

The proposal includes a paid advertising campaign, using major media and those aimed at higher-risk groups. Ads would address all causes of accidents by targeting various age groups and educating pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists, as well as drivers.

"Just as advertising can move cereal and cosmetics off shelves, a well- planned, properly funded education campaign in high schools and the media can reduce accidents, save lives and minimize injuries," Manocherian said.

Manocherian received the "Distinguished Service to Safety Award" from the National Safety Council and "Outstanding Contribution to Traffic Safety Award" from the United States Department of Transportation. He has testified before Congress on traffic safety matters and was recognized by NHTSA as a "tireless proponent of reducing the carnage on our roads."

The National Road Safety Foundation has produced and distributed at no charge educational films, teaching manuals and public service campaigns for use by the media and professionals in driver education, traffic safety, public health and law enforcement. Nearly a million copies of the Foundation's films and materials have been distributed to date.