Top Driver, Job Corps of New Haven, Conn. Connect to Teach Safe Driving Skills

18 February 1999
Top Driver, Job Corps of New Haven, Conn. Connect to Teach Safe Driving Skills Driving School Lands $80,000 Government Contract
    TRUMBULL, Conn., Feb. 18 -- Filling the void to provide
driving instruction to needy young people, Top Driver announced it will offer
driver education courses for participants in the government-backed Job Corps
of New Haven.
    Top Driver, the nation's leader in driver education, will provide the
Connecticut youths with the basic driver training necessary to receive their
drivers license and make them safe drivers.
    "One half of all new drivers will get into an auto crash within the first
year of receiving their license and that is intolerable," said Sebastian
Giordano, chief operating officer of Top Driver.  "By combining our services
with Job Corps of New Haven, these young people will be better prepared to
enter the adult workforce while having the necessary driving skills to remain
safe whenever they are behind the wheel."
    "Through our experience on a trial basis last summer, we found that Top
Driver offered our students the right mix of attention and learning
opportunities where everyone benefited," said Germaine Brace, center director
of Job Corps Connecticut.  "The Top Driver staff handled each of our students
with the personal attention that they needed, helping them prepare to take the
driver exam while building their self confidence."
    The contract between Job Corps, a division of the Employment and Training
Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, and Top Driver, calls for
250-300 young adults to be given the basic driver instruction course.  The
course includes Top Driver's full 38-hour curriculum, pre-testing for the
state driver's exam, as well as driver safety techniques.
    "Many of these kids would not have the opportunity to get a driver's
license if it wasn't for Job Corps," said Bob Lucarelli, Top Driver's lead
instructor for Job Corps.  "Through our combined efforts, these disadvantaged
teenagers will become proactive members of our community."
    Founded in 1964, Jobs Corps is the nation's largest and most comprehensive
residential education and employment training program available for at-risk
youth, ages 16 through 24.  Since its inception, the program has provided more
than 1.7 million young people with the integrated academic, vocational, and
social skills training necessary to gain independence and secure quality,
long-term employment opportunities.
    Partnered with Chevrolet Motor Division, MetLife Auto, Students Against
Destructive Driving (SADD) and Businesses Against Drunk Drivers (BADD), Top
Driver is the first in the industry to bundle driver education programs, DMV
Services, financing information, insurance services, automotive safety
products and driver accessories. For information, or to purchase the Top
Driver Take Control Video, call 1-888-TOP-DRIVER or visit its website at
http://www.topdriver.com.
    For media information, contact Christy Thiele, The Cherenson Group, at
973-992-7800, ext 191.