DDC – Alive at 25® Third Edition

Each year, about 1 crash occurs for every 6 licensed drivers under the age of 25, resulting in about 5 million crashes and more than 9,000 fatalities.

About Alive at 25

Alive at 25, an interactive 4-hour instructor-led course, shows young drivers how to take greater responsibility for their driving behavior. Whereas driver education teaches the mechanics of car and road handling and state law, Alive at 25 focus on behavior, judgment, decision making and consequences an provide tools for making positive choices.

Since 1995 more than 1.4 million young adults have learned life-saving defensive driving skills from Alive at 25. It addresses the number one cause of death for driver 15 to 24 – motor vehicle crashes – and has been adopted by many states and courts for graduated licensing and traffic violators programs.

Alive at 25 also serves as an excellent complement to standard driver education programs. Through interactive media segments, workbook exercises, class discussions and role playing, young drivers develop convictions and strategies that keep them safe on the road. The course includes six compelling videos featuring young driver statistics, hazard recognition, handling peer pressure, making positive choices and more.

The four teaching sessions include:

• "Are You a Potential Statistic?" — Helps young adult drivers recognize that they are more likely than anyone else to be injured or killed in a vehicle crash
• "Recognize the Hazard!" — Identifies the two types of driving hazards as well as the poor judgments and unnecessary risks young adult drivers take in a vehicle
• "Understand the Defense" — Shows young adults that they have control in most driving situations. Also identifies the steps they can take to gain and keep control, whether they are a driver or passenger
• "Act Correctly, Time” — Encourages the commitment to changing driving behavior

Click here to learn more about the content of each teaching session

What young adult drivers will learn

• Why drivers ages 15-24 have such high violation rates and how driving behavior and attitudes contribute
• How peer pressure, distractions, inexperience and underestimating risks can cause unique driving hazards
• The need for and benefits of defensive driving and making positive driving decisions
• State and local driving laws and regulations
• Identifying driving hazards and making wise decisions to avoid such hazards
• How to identify actions to gain and keep control whether you are a driver or passenger and the responsibility of your passengers
• How drugs and alcohol affect driving behavior
• Recognize the legal and personal consequences of both good and poor driving choices and how to foster a commitment to change driving behavior
• Practice making good driving decisions and standing up to people who are not making good decisions

DDC Alive at 25 benefits:

Businesses that adopt the Alive at 25 program as their driver safety training for staff who are young adult drivers show their commitment to safety for employees, their families and the public. This training can also help to improve an organization’s bottom line, lower worker’s compensation insurance costs, decrease fleet premiums, reduce liability exposure and create a culture of safety.

Courts that use the Alive at 25 in their ticket dismissal program provide new direction for young drivers who incur traffic violations and combat young driver fatality rates by changing driver attitudes and behaviors. The program also allows courts to reduce court congestion and decrease case workloads.

Law Enforcements, High Schools and Community Colleges who offer Alive at 25 as part of the graduated driver licensing (GDL), learning-to-drive , or driver education process proactively teach young drivers how to make good driving decisions and how to address peer pressure, distractions and driving hazards before they encounter those situations. Several High Schools across the nation have made significant savings on their parking lot liability coverage since mandating Alive at 25 for all students wishing to drive on and/or park on school property.

Young Adult Drivers ages 15 24 who take the Alive at 25 course gain a new awareness of roadway safety and defensive driving helping them to reduce risk of collisions, dismiss traffic tickets, avoid insurance increases, qualify for court supervision and fulfill court ordered driver education.

Click here to request more information on Alive at 25

Only National Safety Council DDC Alive at 25 certified instructors working for a DDC Training Center may teach Alive at 25.

In addition to being able to present technical information on safe driving practices in a knowledgeable, accurate and effective manner, the DDC Alive at 25 instructors must also be able to attain a highly facilitative role by:

• Stimulating discussions and motivate participants
• Encouraging independent thinking
• Guiding participants in their decision-making process
• Directing participants' activity
• Keeping participants focused and involved
• Debriefing learning activities
• Managing group process

About the DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Development Course

The 2½-day DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Development Course will train the candidate instructor to work with the largest group of at-risk drivers using materials and topics they identify with. The purpose of this course is to provide the knowledge and skills instructors need in order to teach the DDC Alive at 25 programs.

DDC Alive at 25 places strong emphasis on group discussion and on facilitation skills that guide participants to think and form reasoned judgments. There is very little lecture or presentation of information. Instead, the instructor guides participants to form their own conclusions about the consequences of risky driving behavior and their ability to control their own driving behavior. The Instructor Development Course will prepare the candidate instructor for this highly interactive role.

Candidates who best fit the role as a successful DDC Alive at 25 Instructor would be:

• Driving school instructors and behind-the-wheel trainers
• High school driver education teachers or safety / security personnel
• State, county and local police, public information officers, court trainers and driving schools working with newly licensed drivers or teen violators
• Anyone who works with young drivers and teens

Topics covered in the DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Development Course include:

• Thorough coverage of DDC Alive at 25 course content and instructional materials
• How to properly and effectively use the course materials
• Major DDC concepts and strategies
• Characteristics and traits of an effective DDC instructor
• DDC teaching skills and facilitation methods to increase student involvement and motivation
• Specific learner needs and techniques for managing difficult course participants
• Deliver a practice presentation for candidate instructor peer feedback and instructor trainer evaluation
• Administrative responsibilities

Upon successful completion of the DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Development Course:

The candidate must teach a minimum of two DDC Alive at 25 courses. After teaching your two probationary classes, your DDC Training Center’s administrator is to sign and return the Universal Certification Form issued to you during the Instructor Development Course to the National Safety Council.

You will receive a serialized Instructor Credential which is good for one year. The first year of the credential was paid when you enrolled in the Instructor Development Course. After that it is renewable on a yearly basis. After certification, the NSC provides the instructor with a one year subscription to the Instructor’s Certification Subscription Service. This service includes the following:

• Safety and Health Magazine (monthly)
• Access to the DDC Information Highway (housed on the NSC website).
• Driver Trainer (bimonthly electronic newsletter)
• Traffic Safety (monthly electronic newsletter)
• Access to all 50 states and DDC traffic law network
• DDC Instructor webinars and updates
• Information on the Defensive Driving Courses International Advisory Committee
• DDC Instructor Administrative Guide
• DDC Instructor Reference Materials

Click here to request more information on how to become a certified NSC DDC instructor or authorized DDC Training Center.

DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Development Course
2-day Instructor Development Course*
Fee: Members $325; Nonmembers $415

DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Development Course registration fees and course time frames may vary at locations. Contact the National Safety Council at 800-621-7619 or the Administering Office prior to registering for an Instructor Development Course to confirm pricing and course date, complete a DDC Training Center agreement and discuss training options if you are interested in teaching DDC Alive at 25 to the general public (i.e. individuals other than those persons associated with your organization.)

Generally, your registration fee includes the DDC Alive at 25 Instructor Certification Package only. Additional teaching materials are required and must be purchased separately through the Administering Office.

* Some Training Centers and Chapters may require the candidate instructor to attend an actual Alive at 25 class before the two day Instructor Development Course.
Due to state and local rules on instructor certification this offer may vary at some locations. Contact the administering office or NSC Chapter for additional information and availability.