Kajy Law is partnering with Motor City Driving Academy to award one full driver’s education scholarship each week for a year, offering 52 metro Detroit teens free training at the longtime neighborhood school.
“We were looking for somebody that had a lot of experience,” said Lawrence Kajy, CEO of Kajy Law, during an appearance on Live in the D. “Motor City had two decades of experience in driving education. We were also looking for somebody that cared about the community and wanted to make the community safer.”
Once a week for the next 52 weeks, one teen will be selected to receive a paid driver’s education course through Motor City Driving Academy.
Kajy said the initiative grew out of cases his firm has handled. “We’ve handled a lot of car accident cases where the at-fault driver didn’t have a valid driver’s license,” he said. “If they had proper driver’s education, some of these accidents could have been prevented.” He cited data showing “over 40% of teenagers between 16 and 18 didn’t take driver’s education and don’t have a valid driver’s license.”
Motor City Driving Academy, on McNichols on Detroit’s west side, has taught drivers since 2007, from teens as young as 14 years and 9 months to adults. Segment One includes 24 hours of classroom learning, six hours behind the wheel and two hours of observation; Segment Two is three days of classroom instruction after a 90-day permit period.
Owner Esther Ross said distracted driving remains the biggest threat for new drivers. “Right now, the biggest challenges would be distracted driving — the cellphones,” she said. “They have a hard time multitasking.” Her team stresses “reading the road,” maintaining a safe buffer and staying alert. “Not just driving for yourself, but driving for others as well,” Ross said.
“The idea is to make people safer,” Kajy said. “To make kids safer that are in car seats, to make new drivers out there safer — the right training, the right program — and hopefully to avoid future accidents.”
To enter for your chance to win one of the Motor City Driving Academy scholarships, click here. You’ll find all the rules posted here.