" Alive at 25" teaches Airmen to drive and survive

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Jason Wolf
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Safety Office
MacDill AFB, Fla --  The "Alive at 25" traffic safety program kicked off at the MacDill Education Center Sept 1 to educate 18 to 25 year olds about the hazards faced each day on the area roads, and the importance of being responsible drivers. 

Mr. Tom Diveley, National Safety Council certified instructor from the McGuire AFB Safety office, visited MacDill Sept 1 to 2 and trained six instructors to teach the course. They in turn, taught 34 students on topics like what makes people bad drivers, hazards and pitfalls faced each day on area roads and the conse¬quences of poor driving decisions. 

The National Safety Council program is a Department of Defense and Air Force Safety Center supported course. It satisfies the AFI requirement to attend traffic safety course IIIB for 6th Air Mobility Wing Airmen, and is designed for both officers and enlisted personnel. 

Students of the "Alive at 25" class said, it was educational and demonstrated various incidents which made them more aware of preventing car accidents. 

"The class was very informative, it really opened my eyes up to a lot of things I never really considered to be a distraction," said Senior Airman Christina Allen, safety course student. 

She said this class will help young Airmen to realize the importance of driving responsibly with the videos demonstrating key mistakes that young drivers make while driving. 

"This class has really instilled the rules that every driver should live by 'My Keys, My Car, My Rules,' " said Senior Airman Allen.
"I think the Alive at 25 training was as an eye-opener for me as it was for the Airmen who attended the course. I'm still part of the 15 to 24 age demographic, so I can relate to the situations and experiences we learned about," said 2nd Lt. Mark Graff, "Alive at 25" safety course instructor. "Even though this class doesn't make safety and defensive driving experts, it makes you think every time you get in a vehicle. You say to yourself, 'be safe, be aware, and take it easy.'" 

With this slogan in mind the students at the "Alive at 25" program have the knowledge to make better decisions. 

"I think having that awareness and understanding as a driver makes you a better driver. As far as instructing goes, I really enjoyed it," said Lieutenant Graff. "The classroom was a great environment to mentor the young Airmen and allow them to relax and learn about driving." 

"Alive at 25" classes are held the second Wednesday of every month from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. by calling Wing Safety at 828-3383 or 828-3384.