Georgia Southern University has received an $8,000 grant through the Governor's Office of Highway Safety to participate in the Georgia Young Adult Program. The program educates students about the dangers of alcohol abuse, underage drinking and impaired driving.

"The Governor's Office of Highway Safety grant is a great thing for the university because it helps supplement the educational programming that the Alcohol and Other Drugs Office already does," said Kerry Greenstein, associate dean of students. "This extra money allows us to reach more students with information about safe drinking behaviors, and specifically supports our efforts to prevent drunk driving."

The grant will allow the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs Programs to promote the "Safe Rides Saves Lives" campaign, which discourages driving while under the influence of alcohol. The office coordinates impaired driving prevention programs, which include Fatal Vision goggles and DUI simulators.

"We are excited about the receipt of this grant because it allows us to continue educating students on the dangers of distracted and impaired driving," said Nicole Withers, administrative coordinator for the Office of Alcohol and Other Drugs Programs at Georgia Southern. "We will be able to continue our efforts to keep the student body, community and other drivers safe as we encourage them to steer away from destructive decisions."

The mission of the Georgia Young Adult Program is to promote education and awareness to young adults about highway safety issues, such as underage drinking, impaired driving, destructive decisions and other high-risk behaviors in order to decrease crashes, injuries, and fatalities in young adults and passengers.

The Governor's Office of Highway Safety coordinates with colleges and universities throughout Georgia to implement the program, which has been successful using strategies such as peer education, providing educational speakers to schools and encouraging schools to develop creative, innovative techniques to reduce young adult crashes, injuries and fatalities in their communities.