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Ringgold H.S. Awarded $3,000 Grant For Driver's Education

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - With thousands of school districts pinched for funding, one of the areas that is often chopped is driver's education.

One local school got a boost Wednesday morning to address the challenges teens face behind the wheel.

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As students head back to school, their safety behind the wheel comes to mind.

"We realize the number one killer of our teens is auto crashes. Just recently in the news we have had some tragic things that have happened to our young people. We want to reduce that number. We truly do," Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Robin Mungo said.

This morning on "Pittsburgh Today Live," Westfield Insurance awarded Ringgold High School a $3,000 grant to bolster its efforts for teaching safe driving skills.

"One of the big things that we want to do is get our students some relevant experience as far as being on the road. We are very fortunate to be able to do that at Ringgold especially with the help of this grant," Ringgold Principal Jason Minniti said.

"We do get a lot of great feedback furthering their education programs, driver safety and as we mentioned there are a lot of education cutbacks. So, it's a great way for them to be able to continue to fund these types of programs," George Loeffelbein with Westfield Insurance said.

Ringgold plans to buy EZ Passes for its drivers ed cars. They will install a driving skills course for kids to use and a computer-based obstacle game.

Much of their instruction focuses on distracted driving.

"We didn't have as many vehicles as we have now, and those people are distracted. So, your head has to be in the game. You have to know exactly what you are doing. You have to think ahead. You have to prepare. You have to be able to react to something to keep yourself safe and everyone around you safe," Trooper Mungo said.

For more information about the Taking The Lead: Ford Driving Skills For Life program, click here.

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