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Show Defensive Driving Course Helps Utah Motorists The forward look in Utah's Driver Improvement Program has been the Defensive Driving Course, Earl N. Dorius, Director Direc-tor of the Driver's License Division Di-vision said today. ; "Drivers with a bad driving record, who need help to preserve pre-serve their driving privilege, have been referred to this course," he said. Those who have completed it have shown a remarkable improvement in their driving record. In a before be-fore and after study of 500 drivers dri-vers who completed the course, statistics revealed that fifty per cent drove the following two years without a violation. Also Al-so the same group completed a like period with a sixty-five per ! cent reduction in traffic acci- I ! dent involvement. "In the year prior to the i course," Dorius said, "this con- - trolled group was involved in j 238 traffic mishaps in the State In two year period following the instruction in evasive actions needed to avoid traffic accidents, acci-dents, this group reported being be-ing involved in only 84 accidents." acci-dents." Prior to the advent of the Defensive Driving Course, drivers dri-vers with bad records faced the loss of their driving privilege privil-ege with questionable opportunities oppor-tunities for driver improvement improve-ment accorded them. Far too often, remedial action was simply sim-ply to deny them a license in the hope they would improve. This method provided no definite defin-ite means of evaluating whether wheth-er the aim of the program was being achieved. "The purpose of the State's Driver Improvement Program, Dorius said, "is to improve a driver's attitude toward the serious business of driving and to afford him an opportunity to keep his driver's license. It is not the desire of the Department," Depart-ment," he added, "to dprive any driver his license. In fact, the reverse is true. The ideal situation would be for all motorists mot-orists to drive and do so legally legal-ly and safely, However, it is the responsibility of the Department De-partment to ascertain that only those persons who adhere to the traffic laws and do not jeopardize the lives of other Utahns remain on the road." "With the outstanding results re-sults being attained through Defensive De-fensive Driving Course," Dorius Dor-ius said, "problem drivers who have been offered an opportunity oppor-tunity to enroll in the course and have failed to do so, will come under close review. In an all out effort to keep safe drivers on the road, those who have not enrolled will be directed direc-ted to complete such a course or face the possibility of license suspension. If it can help the 500 drivers reviewed, it should help any driver with points on his driving record, or for that matter, any driver, regardless of points." |