GEICO to Sponsor 40 Students in START

TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 30, 2006 -- Forty local teenagers are getting a chance to participate in the Safe Teen Accident Reduction Training (START) program as part of GEICO's sponsorship and continued dedication to keep teenage drivers safe. START, which teaches five accident avoidance techniques, including off-road recovery, anti-lock brake system (ABS) familiarization, skid recovery, evasive steering, and controlled braking, is a local program designed by the Tucson Police Department to give students real life practice for real life situations.

"In the past five years, 25 teenagers have died in driving accidents in our Tucson community," said Martha Furnas, assistant vice president of GEICO's Tucson office. "Some of these accidents are due to the inexperience of beginning drivers because they lack the skills to react to unexpected circumstances on the road. We are proud to support this outstanding program which instructs our youth how to respond to dangerous situations they may face while driving."

Sgt. Steve Culbertson, creator of the START program, said, "In a time when school driving programs are being cut or are under-funded in the Tucson area, we are so pleased to have formed a partnership with GEICO. I feel that our efforts are validated because GEICO sees its value by sponsoring these students. The neat thing about our program is that every year we have a new batch of beginning drivers and the START will always have a necessary place in the Tucson community. We have already seen nearly 650 teens go through our program since its inception in January 2005."

Furnas continued, "GEICO takes its role as a responsible corporate citizen seriously and recognizes the need to help promote safe teen driving habits in our community. Auto accidents are the number one killer of young drivers age 16 to 20 and we want to do our part to educate teens about tremendous responsibilities involved in safe driving techniques."

GEICO has partnered with the Tucson Police Department and Tucson Police Foundation to offer a five-hour class for Tucson area licensed drivers on Dec. 2 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Dec. 16 from noon to 5 p.m. at no cost to the student. One hour of classroom instruction is followed by four hours in the car with the same TPD instructors that teach safe-driving techniques to area law enforcement officers.

If you are interested in having your student participate in this unique opportunity please contact Capin Garden at (520) 546-2526 or cgarden@geico.com.

GEICO has extensive materials on teen safe driving, including a DVD, "Real Teen Driving." For more information on about safe teen driving, please go to http://www.geico.com/teendriving.