High school students can start taking a new defensive driving program this month aimed at keeping them safer behind the wheel.

The county school board voted in August to require high school students to take the “Alive at 25” defensive driving course. The National Safety Council designed the program in an effort to reduce the number of traffic deaths for people between the ages of 16 and 24.

The defensive driving class will be taught by South Carolina Highway Patrol Cpl. Bobby Albert. There is a fee of $35.

The first “Alive at 25” classes will be offered Oct. 10 at Gaffney High School and Oct. 25 at Cherokee Technology Center. The course will be taught at Blacksburg High on Nov. 19.

Classes will be offered several times per month on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays throughout the school year. Classes will alternate between Blacksburg High, Gaffney High and Cherokee Technology Center.

The school board is requiring all students in driver’s education to complete the “Alive at 25” course before receiving a driver’s education credit. Students must complete the course before being allowed to purchase a parking sticker next school year.

“It is a 4 1/2-hour defensive driving course that addresses the dangers of speeding, using a cell phone while driving, eating while driving, abusing alcohol or drugs while driving and more,” Gaffney High Principal Marlene Davis said. “If we can save the life of one person with this program, it will be well worth the time and cost.”

Students can register online at: www.scaliveat25.org. Anyone who cannot afford the $35 fee should contact the National Safety Council at (803) 732-6778 and ask about financial assistance.