Walt Whitman students finishing up spring Driver’s Ed got some expert advice about driving safely from the professionals who will be watching them on our roads.  MTA police officer John Matarazzo is part of a national safety program called Operation Lifesaver.  He and his partner visited Walt Whitman High School to speak with students about the realities of being a new driver on Long Island roadways.  He was invited by Driver’s Ed teacher Mike Gargiulo who felt his students could benefit greatly hearing from an expert who has patrolled the roads watching for drivers who don’t follow the rules.

Operation Lifesaver is a national program that provides volunteer speakers and trained instructors to speak to school, community, and professional groups about staying safe around railroad tracks and trains.  With 300 railroad crossings on Long Island, knowing how to operate a vehicle safely around train crossings is important to our young drivers.

In addition to railroad safety, Officer Matarazzo also talked about all different kinds of distracted driving, what to expect and how to behave if you’re pulled over by police, and what a field sobriety test is like.  “We focus on the three Es - Education, Engineering, and Enforcement.  The education part is me being here today to teach you something that might help you in the future to stay safe.  The engineering is in the safety devices. You have a seatbelt in your car. You have the gates at the crossing.  There are airbags in the car. Those are safety devices.  Enforcement is like the last line. When a cop has to write you a ticket to try to make you better,” said Officer Matarazzo. 

The veteran officer has pulled over many drivers so he had advice for our new drivers who might find themselves being pulled over not too long after they start driving on their own.  “Pull over to the right side of the road. The cop will first run your license plate. While he's doing that, I know the first thing you think you want to be doing is getting your license, registration, and insurance to show. Just wait for the police officer to walk to your car. If you get pulled over at night and it's hard to see in your car, turn the interior light on. Once you do that, you have already started this interaction better than 95% of people because you're showing the police officer, I'm not hiding anything.  I know enough to make you feel comfortable,” explained Officer Matarazzo. 

Then, to make things even smoother, he suggested drivers make sure they have their license, registration, and proof of insurance all together and easy to find in any car they drive.  “So when you get pulled over, you're not going through old Taco Bell wrappers to find this stuff. Grab it, hand it to the police officer. He has all the documentation.”

Thank you to MTA Officer Matarazzo for his no-holds-barred, honest advice to our students.  Best of luck and safe driving to our Driver’s Ed graduates as they get ready to take their road test next!