Teens who need experience driving may take the Rutherford County School Resource Officers' 11-hour DRIVE class to build their skills.

Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold says the Defense Response Improving Vehicle Education program is geared to teens ages 16-19. SRO Chad Dodson, who is the DRIVE coordinator, says students receive personal training from Sheriff's Office driving instructors on both the classroom and the driving experience, preferably with the vehicle they intend to drive.

Classes include three hours of classroom training from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and a driving course from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Classes will be Sept. 26-27, Oct. 24-25, Nov. 21-22, Jan. 30-31, Feb. 27-28, March 27-28, April 24-25 and May 22-23. The location will be announced later.

Dotson says the goal of DRIVE focuses on educating teen drivers by increasing awareness of the adverse conditions and situations that contribute to teen crashes. He says this class is for teen drivers beginning to drive or those who want to improve their driving skills.

Driving exercises include evasive maneuvers, parallel parking, threshold emergency braking, forward and reverse serpentine, distracted diving, backing, cornering and angled parking.

Students interested in taking the course should contact Oakland Middle School SRO Dodson at 396-7342 to register. Cost is $55 with checks written to the Rutherford County SRO Association. Teens must show their valid driver's license and proof of insurance and provide a vehicle for the driving course.