[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      SAFETY CENTER INCORPORATION CELEBRATES ITS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 22, 2009

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the civic 
leaders, city officials and community members who have contributed to 
making Safety Center Incorporation a success for the past 75 years. 
This organization started in 1934 and has created a number of 
innovative programs to help educate thousands of people around the 
Sacramento area regarding safety on and off the road. I ask all my 
colleagues to join me in saluting Safety Center Inc. on the 75th 
anniversary of their founding.
  Since its inception, Safety Center Inc. (SCI), formerly known as 
Sacramento Safety Council, has created several safety training programs 
for children, teens, disabled adults and seniors. In 1935, 1 year after 
establishing the organization, SCI conducted its first safe driving 
training to Sacramento High School students; and in 1936, SCI opened a 
traffic school for teens. By means of this traffic school program, 
young drivers were able to use the SCI testing device to learn how 
quickly they would react in potential driving scenarios. After much 
excitement between the 1930s and 1950s, the SCI was formally 
incorporated into the State of California in 1959.
  In the 1970s, SCI continued to expand its horizons. On December 9, 
1971, SCI authorized the establishment of a drinking and driving 
program. One week after SCI authorized this program, the State mandated 
that drunk drivers attend remedial classes, in order to help prevent 
future drivers from this illegal and unsafe driving behavior. Due to a 
high Spanish-speaking population, the organization offered Spanish-
language defensive driving courses, as well as Courts Alcohol Re-
Education (CARE) programs by the mid-1970s.
  Within the last quarter-century, Safety Center Inc. has educated more 
than 2,000 teens in defensive driving techniques, almost 900 seniors in 
mature driving and more than 600 students in motorcycle riding safety. 
To include children in their efforts to keep all Californians safe, SCI 
established a life-saving safety education center known as Safetyville. 
Children, preschool through third grade, are taken on a tour through a 
town-like setting, in which they learn fire, pedestrian, stranger 
danger and railroad safety precautions. This children's program has 
provided life-saving safety education and training to more than 125,000 
children since 1984.
  On September 26, 2009, SCI will celebrate 75 years of stability, 
innovation and of course, safety. I am honored to congratulate and its 
members who have helped train and protect thousands of people. Madam 
Speaker, as my constituents gather to celebrate the Safety Center 
Inc.'s 75th anniversary, I ask all my colleagues to join me in honoring 
the organization's monumental history and success.

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