MARYSVILLE — The best people to train drivers are the people who ticket drivers for mistakes and clean up after their accidents — police officers.
That’s the premise of the 911 Driving School in Marysville, a new franchise business three full-time Arlington police officers own and operate i
n their off-duty hours. The school draws customers from Arlington, Lakewood, Marysville, Stanwood, Camano Island, Lake Stevens and Snohomish.
“We strongly believe in this,” said Peter Barrett, a partner in the enterprise. “Looking at data for the number of tickets issued and collision rates for drivers in the first two years after getting their intermediate license, the ones who trained with 911 Driving Schools had the lowest numbers, according to the Washington state Department of Licensing.”
In a national survey of 1,000 teen drivers age 16 and 17 in 2007, 61 percent reported they had engaged in risky and unsafe driving. Notable teen driving statistics show that 77 percent of teen crashes involved avoidable driver errors, that 16-year-olds have more accidents than any other age group and that more than 326,000 young drivers are injured each year.
Further traffic law violation studies published by the 911 Driving School network revealed that 66 percent of teens were driving 10 mph or more over the posted speed limit; 32 percent send text messages while driving; more than 43 percent were reading text messages while driving; and more than 8 of 10 teens who admitted to risky driving behavior were talking on cellphones while driving.
On average, out of tens of thousands of students in Washington, graduates from the cop-run school had significantly fewer warning letters, violations, suspensions and collisions than the average for all other driving schools in the state, the company’s data shows.
That’s exactly what Pierce County sheriff’s deputy Andrew Finley hoped would happen when he started the first 911 Driving School in 2000. Today, through its franchises, the school has expanded to many communities in Washington and other states.
Finley recognized that police officers are trained specifically to enforce traffic laws, know the latest law changes and interpretations, have the respect of students, parents and the community and are able to offer real-life examples of the costly and potentially deadly results of poor driving habits and mindsets.
“The more we learned about this business the more excited we got,” Barrett said.
Although the business serves drivers of all ages and circumstances, Barrett said one of the great motivators for the officers is knowing that they are helping young drivers who are just starting out behind the wheel. Particularly for new drivers, there’s a heavy emphasis on the fact that laws must be obeyed even if drivers disagree with them or think they know best.
“Drivers learn, for example, that even when you’re sitting at a stop light it’s not all right to talk on their cellphones,” Barrett said.
Johnstone agreed, noting that most accidents are caused by drivers not paying attention to their driving, speed or what’s happening around them.
“Preventing accidents and deaths is really important to me,” he said. “The toughest thing I have to do is knock on someone’s door at 3 a.m. and tell them their son or daughter isn’t coming home.”
911 Driving School has a state-of-the-art classroom, new vehicles that are safe and fun to drive and an excellent curriculum, Barrett said.
While many officers take on extra jobs to earn money at sports events or off-duty policing at community gatherings, Barrett, Johnstone and Kinney’s business has become their off-duty job. They admit it can be a stretch to work long hours on their regular shifts and then put in time running the school, but they know it will get easier once the business is more established.
Part of their business promotion includes conducting drivers’ safety fairs on weekends or having a booth at festivals. The school also offers programs for adult drivers, enhancement courses for drivers 55 and older and “reality-check” driving on a closed course for drivers wanting to refine their collision-avoidance skills.
All of the officers have also been qualified as driver training instructors in order to run the business.
“What makes our driving school different than others is that students hear our stories of the things we respond to every single night and the causes of those accidents. Other driver instructors just see those things on YouTube,” he said.
In the first six weeks since the 911 Driver School opened in Marysville, the response has been highly positive, Barrett said.
“We’ve had a steady ramping up in business and really an awesome response from the community, comments like, ‘I can’t believe no one thought of doing that.’ It’s reassuring to me that people recognize the difference and what we have to offer,” he said.
John Wolcott is a freelance writer.
Learn more
For more information about 911 Driving School, check out www.911drivingschool.com, call 360-658-0911 or email marysville@911drivingschool.com.
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