February 2008
A Message from Sheriff Brown

Dear Concerned Citizen of Bedford County,

We are writing you this letter to give you a brief update on recent activities of the BEDCO CARES Program. BEDCO CARES is a broad-based community coalition dedicated to reducing the high number of traffic accidents and related deaths and injuries among Bedford County teens. Founded by the Bedford County Sheriff's office, BEDCO CARES is made up of representatives from law enforcement, state government, local government, school administration, drivers education instruction, private sector companies, non-profit organizations, health organizations, civic groups, concerned parents, and local media.

In the fall of 2007, BEDCO CARES began a working partnership with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). VTTI has performed ground breaking field research of the behaviors of teen drivers. They have begun to develop some proposed actions which they believe will have direct positive impact on the problem of deaths and injuries to teen drivers and their passengers. BEDCO CARES is currently working with VTTI in three main areas:

• Incorporating mandatory parent/teen classroom training into the current Bedford County driver's education program, with a focus on understanding the details and significant benefits of Virginia’s Graduated Drivers License (GDL) laws and encouraging the use of parent/teen driving contracts to clearly define expectations and consequences.

• Construction of a specially designed teen driver training facility that will focus on what the evidence indicates are the most common skill deficiencies that result in teen driving accidents: Off-road recovery, hazard recognition, and emergency braking.

• Supporting VTTI in applying for a 4-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to conduct teen driver in-vehicle research in Bedford County and Montgomery County to study the effectiveness of various intervention strategies.

This partnership with VTTI creates an exciting opportunity for us to work directly with a world renowned research institute to aggressively address this problem. The work we do in conjunction with VTTI could have positive impact far beyond our local community. We look forward to keeping you informed of the progress of these efforts.

If you have any further questions please feel free to contact Captain Mike Miller or Sgt. David Marsh at 540-586-7712 or 586-7718.