ALDOT, Lutzie 43 Foundation Bring Safe Driving Summit to Prattville High Before Prom

Nearly one in 10 crashes across Alabama in 2024 involved a driver between 15 and 19 years old. That figure is what Prattville High School Principal Daniel Farris wants his students to confront before they get behind the wheel for prom night.

On Wednesday, April 8, the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Lutzie 43 Foundation will bring their Safe Driving Summit to Prattville High's campus at 1315 Upper Kingston Road. The free, five-hour program runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., targeting distracted, impaired and unsafe driving, and lands just three days before prom on Saturday, April 11.

"When I connected with Mike Lutzenkirchen and learned about the Safe Driving Summit, I knew immediately this was an opportunity we needed to take advantage of," Farris said. "Hosting the Summit at Prattville High School just three days before our prom allows us to reinforce this life-saving message at a time when it matters most. If this experience causes even one student to pause, think, and make a safer decision, and ultimately impacts even one life, it will be well worth it."

The day's keynote comes from Mike Lutzenkirchen, Executive Director of the Lutzie 43 Foundation, who will share the story of his son Philip. Philip Lutzenkirchen was a standout tight end at Auburn University and the program's all-time leader in touchdown receptions among tight ends before his death in a 2014 crash. The foundation was built on the belief that understanding those consequences can change a young driver's habits.

Students will also rotate through breakout sessions led by first responders, trauma care specialists and law enforcement officials. One exercise moves entirely outside the classroom: students will climb into a full-size big rig to experience a commercial driver's blind spots and stopping distances from inside the cab.

Every student will leave with a physical "43 Key," tied to the foundation's 43 Key Seconds initiative, a brief pre-drive ritual designed to reduce distraction and sharpen focus before moving. ALDOT Drive Safe Alabama coordinator Dalton Middleton, who cited the 10-percent crash figure, called the program a collection of "critical tools to keep young drivers safe in the state of Alabama."

For families, the most immediate action item heading into prom weekend is the same one students will practice Wednesday: run the 43 Key Seconds before your teen leaves the driveway.