The Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) Advancement Foundation has been awarded an $11,095 grant from the Georgia Young Adult Program.

Funded through the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the grant helps to promote education and awareness for young, inexperienced drivers ages 16-24 about highway safety issues such as underage drinking and impaired driving.

“With the increase in the number of persons killed in traffic crashes in Georgia and across the nation over the last year, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is working with partners like ABAC to implement programs designed to stop the risky driving behaviors that are contributing to a majority of our serious-injury and fatality crashes,” Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said.

“Many of the fatal traffic crashes on our roads are preventable, and we will continue to work with our educational and enforcement partners to develop programs and initiatives that are designed to get Georgia to our goal of zero traffic deaths.”

This is the 19th year of the Young Adult program on ABAC's campus. Projects within the program involve collaborations with the campus Greek community, student athletes, camps, police, health and wellness departments, and counseling services.

Activities will include a DUI simulator and ThinkFast alcohol awareness training. In 2020, the program reached approximately 2,000 students. Everyone from the Tifton area between the ages of 16 and 24 is invited to participate.

Scott Pierce, ABAC's Director of Sponsored Programs, said, "We are very pleased to have this grant come to ABAC again this year. Through partnerships with the Tift County Commission on Children and Youth, the City of Tifton Police Department, and the Tift County Sheriff's Office, this grant helps us reach out through our community.

“It gives us the opportunity to help lower the number and severity of alcohol-related incidents, making a real difference here in southwest Georgia."

Master Sergeant Todd Daunhauer will spearhead the Young Adult program. He will seek to provide the students of ABAC with a safe environment to learn and address the dangers of impaired driving.

Through the educational opportunities of the GOHS Young Adults program, ABAC students can face these dangers without facing the harsh consequences of personally making mistakes while behind the wheel of a vehicle.

The grant runs through Sept. 30, 2022. For more information, interested persons can contact GOHS at 404-657-9079. For more information on GOHS and its other highway safety programs, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org.