State officials are excited about the feedback from young drivers who have completed a new program designed to teach them safe driving habits.

Since the "Alive at 25" program started in May, 96 percent of the participants who completed a post-class survey said the program will have a positive influence on their driving, and 97 percent said they would recommend the class to others.

Program director Diane Hall of the South Dakota Safety Council said she is pleased with how the course has been received and hopes to build on its success.

"We're absolutely trying to keep it going," she said. "I think continuing education is going to be key to helping the kids make good choices."

The class, first tested in February, officially started in the Rapid City area in May. The course doesn't teach young people how to drive, but how to make better decisions and show responsibility, according to South Dakota Department of Public Safety officials.

The emphasis is on how to drive defensively and avoid distractions.

Some students take the class voluntarily, while others are referred to it by the court system.

"(The classes) have gone very well," said Desmond Watson, a Rapid City instructor with the South Dakota Highway Patrol. "They're very receptive to the material."

Watson said he addresses the dangers of drinking and driving and distracted driving, among other items.

The course is currently offered for the Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Chester school districts.

But students in other areas say they would welcome a safe-driving program.

During Capital for a Day ceremonies in Philip last week, students took a "fatal vision" course that simulates drunk driving by looking through a special pair of goggles.

LaRa VanTassel, a freshman at Philip High School, said she thinks a defensive driving course would go over well in Philip.

"I think they (students) would definitely accept that kind of message," she said.

The death of a Philip-area teenager in an alcohol-related accident has made other teens more aware of the realities of drinking and driving, she said.

Her classmate Sayde Slovek said students at the school are picking up the message about responsible driving. "There's a lot of awareness about that issue here," she said.

Like VanTassel, she thinks her peers would be willing to take courses designed to make them safer, more responsible drivers.

Douglas High School senior Tara Tadlock took the Alive at 25 class during its pilot session in February.

Tadlock said she had noticed a difference in not only her driving habits, but also those of her classmates.

"It just taught me how making one slight choice can change an entire outcome, how making a healthy driving choice or a better driving choice changes everything," she said.

The 14 to 24 age group is an especially important one to focus on, according to Watson.

"Young drivers are more susceptible to making poor decisions behind the wheel," he said.

So far, 291 people have been trained in the course. Of those, Hall said 54 were referred to the class by the court system.

Fourth Circuit Magistrate Michelle Percy estimates that she has ordered about 20 people to take the class for such infractions as careless driving, speeding and failure to yield.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol made a presentation to the 4th Circuit judges in May, she said. Impressed with the program, Percy considered it a viable option in her courtroom.

"I decided to start doing that for a sentencing option for people that qualify," she said.

Percy said the course teaches defensive driving habits and other information that students won't get in driver's education courses.

The Alive at 25 course has been taught in Rapid City several times this summer and will continue this fall. People between the age of 14 and 24 are eligible. It costs $50 for people who enroll voluntarily and $65 for those who are court-ordered to take it.

The next class is scheduled for mid-September.

For more information, contact the South Dakota Safety Council at sdsc@southdakotasafetycouncil.org or 1-800-952-5539.