FUHS requires Smart Start class for student parking permits

Effective with the 2011-2012 school year, Fallbrook Union High School (FUHS) has made it a requirement for students who want to park their cars on campus to attend a free Start Smart driving safety class.

The Start Smart program, which is led by the Sheriff’s Fallbrook substation, was started by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) approximately five years ago. It is meant to reinforce safe driving in new and inexperienced drivers, while giving “real life” examples of what the dangers of inattentive driving may be. The Sheriff’s department started running the program in conjunction with the CHP before each substation began to take the program and adapt it to the needs of their various communities.

“The administration and teachers are aware of the community we live in and how dangerous the roads are,” said Josh Way, ASB director for FUHS. “We need to do everything we can to get this information to young drivers.”

The high school already hosts the Every 15 Minutes program presentations every other year, but Way believes the new requirement to obtain one of the over 100 parking spots will revive interest in the classes.

“I sense that these students want this information, and now they have the extra boost and initiative to come to the class,” said Way. “It’s exciting because the Sheriff’s department is very supportive of us, and wants to collaborate. It’s a pleasure to work with <an agency> who shares the same passion as we do - to educate.”

Sheriff’s Deputy Ed Macken, one of the instructors for the Start Smart program, has been in law enforcement 19 years, serving four of those years in traffic investigations.

“In that time, a lot of the fatalities I investigated involved young individuals,” said Macken, who believes it is essential to share how easily an inexperienced driver can get into an accident. “It is disturbing to see how easy it is to lose concentration while driving. We see it day to day; electronics and other items distract us.”

Now that the high school is requiring the class for a permit to park on campus, Macken hopes to see a new batch of drivers interested in taking the class, which only takes about two hours of time.

“We want to help people think about [driving safety] all the time,” said Macken, who says he sees drivers reaching for their electronics at nearly every stoplight. “We want to curtail that activity and save the public some money. Collisions caused by distractions due to electronic devices have surpassed those caused by intoxication, so we will do what is necessary to make sure students leave their electronics alone while driving.”

Macken understands that being a new driver is in itself overwhelming, without adding distractions, and has a personal reason for being so passionate about keeping young drivers informed and safe.

A little over a year ago, on May 17, 2010, Macken’s daughter was following her 19-year-old boyfriend home from a job interview when he went through a three-way intersection at a high speed, lost control of his vehicle, and slammed into a pole.

“He had just received a job, and was happy, so he wanted to go home to share the good news,” said Macken. “The sad part was that his father, a retired Oceanside fire captain, was home, minutes away.”

Macken’s daughter rushed to the home to retrieve her boyfriend’s father, and arrived back at the scene before the ambulance. Emergency responders and the boy’s father were unable to save his life.

“They were just being teenagers,” said Macken. “I hear numerous stories of kids getting killed when they are just being human – in the process of growing up and being carefree. We want to use this anniversary as a way to remember him, while saving others.”

Mark Cahill, a Sheriff’s detective also involved with the Start Smart classes, has also lost friends in auto collisions that could have been avoided.

“I’ve had three friends die; two died at a crash scene and the other a while later,” said Cahill. “When I was in high school, my brother’s friend was drinking and driving when he rolled his Honda. He used to do motocross and surf, but was paralyzed. He went downhill after that.”

With 22 years in law enforcement, Cahill said he understands the need to teach new drivers to be aware of the dangers of inattention while driving.

“This class encompasses everything – drinking and driving, texting and driving, drowsy drivers,” said Cahill, who said collisions that have happened within the Fallbrook community are reviewed during class. “We go over accidents and fatalities that have happened near Stage Coach Lane or on Live Oak Park Road because the kids recognize the area, and may remember the accident.”

Cahill stated that parents and grandparents from other communities in the county have been bringing their teens to Fallbrook Start Smart classes because there are not similar classes in their area.

“We even had one grandparent call and ask if her granddaughter from Orange County could come to the class. We have people coming from Temecula, Oceanside and other areas because there are no classes offered there, or because they have been cancelled due to lack of participation,” said Cahill. “We will not cancel our class, even if it’s for just one student.”

A parent or adult must attend the Start Smart class with each new driver, said Cahill.

“There’s a lot taught in the course, and it is not just to benefit teen drivers,” said Cahill.

The Sheriff’s Department will also have a booth near the Jimmy Durante entrance gate at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, which carries the theme “Race to the Fair” this year, as a way to continue educating the public about driving safety, said Cahill.

“I would love to do this full time,” said Cahill. “There is so much we could do to teach kids, and we could even work with younger kids, in a similar way to the D.A.R.E. program. If we can get just one kid to think before doing something dumb and stop an accident, the whole program is worthwhile.”

In an effort to offer as many sessions as possible this summer for students wishing to obtain parking permits for the fall, Smart Start classes have been scheduled for June 9 and 20, Aug. 24, and Sept. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. To reserve a spot in one of these free classes, call Deputy Mark Cahill at (760) 451-3190.

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