Teenagers who are new drivers, or soon will be, have another opportunity to take a driver education course offered by the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.

The ECSO’s Traffic Enforcement Unit will host the Georgia Teens Ride with Pride course on Oct. 5 at the Effingham County Courthouse, offering it at two different times: first from 9-11 a.m. and again from 1-3 p.m.

The registration deadline is Sept. 24. To register, contact Deputy Mike Kendricks at (912) 754-3449 or mkendricks@effinghamcounty.org. Email requests are preferred.

Ride with Pride is a free, two-hour course designed to help parents and their new teen drivers, ages 14-16, learn what they need to do during the 40 hours of supervised practice driving time.

“This course has been in very high demand since the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office began hosting it this past year,” said ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor.

The program addresses driver attitude, knowledge and behavior, rather than being a technical, hands-on driver training course. Teens and parents must register to attend.

While completion of the course may reduce insurance rates, it does not count toward the required 40 hours of supervised driving practice. The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office is one of a few agencies in the state with deputies who are certified to host the Georgia Teens Ride with Pride course.

For more information on the course, visit http://extension.caes.uga.edu/gtipi/templates/classes.htm#class.