DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Dearborn Police Department is taking action against reckless driving in their community by offering a free summer traffic school program aimed at teen and new drivers.
Watch Christiana's full story in the video player below:
At Dearborn police's free summer traffic school, teens are getting real hands-on experience as part of the department's widespread effort on driver safety across the city.
The program comes in response to numerous incidents of dangerous driving captured on video, including speeding down residential neighborhoods and resulting crashes.
Extended interview: Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin talks about driver's safety classes
"Traffic safety is a top priority for the residents of Dearborn," Chief Issa Shahin said.
The police department is particularly concerned about young drivers being involved in serious incidents.
"Young drivers, unfortunately, we've had some really catastrophic, traumatic crashes in the last several months involving young drivers driving recklessly behind the wheel," Shahin said.
Officer Adel Saleh identified the main issues they're addressing with teenage drivers.
"Speed, that's like the common theme that we're talking about. Talking a lot about speed, distracted driving is another big point that we're trying to hit home with," Saleh said.
The program offers three hours of free training on proper driving techniques, with officers making the lessons applicable to real-life situations, including simulated traffic stops.
Fifteen-year-old Nikolas Blankinship, who is preparing to start driver training this year, found the program beneficial.
"It's been helpful. It's been very informative. I've been able to get some information that I haven't learned of previously, so it's nice that I'm here," Blankinship said.
Aaliyah Flores, who has been driving for less than a year, said the class is teaching her to remain calm in chaotic driving situations.
"It’s been interesting. It’s crazy that people, people that don't know how to drive ... are just so stupid and everything. Because when you’re driving, you not only have to worry about yourself, but you also have to worry about a whole bunch of other people sometimes who just don't care about that,” said Flores.
Chief Shahin explained that the traffic school is part of a comprehensive approach to address safety concerns throughout Dearborn.
"We've been writing more tickets than ever before. This is part of the education component, right. And so you'll see everything from these driver training classes. We've had a driving simulator that visited all of our three of our public high schools to PSAs constantly kind of driving home, you know, safe driving habits, and the last component is gonna be engineering and so we're redesigning a lot of our roads to make them a little bit safer as well," Shahin said.
For those who missed this session, two more are scheduled for this summer. Interested participants can call the Dearborn Police Department or visit their website to sign up.
Upcoming Dates:
• Wed, July 9 | 10 AM – 1 PM
• Wed, July 23 | 10 AM – 1 PM
JMicallef@Dearborn.gov | (313) 943-2181
—
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
