Durham police are getting desperate to slow drivers down – they’ve called in the reinforcements, in the form of teenagers! Reported by TheStar.com, drivers were offered a choice when pulled over in an innovative program designed to help deter speeding. Get a speeding ticket (a minimum fine of $90) or a lecture from a teen.

Only one of the 63 motorists opted for the speeding ticket. The rest listened to one-page essays by grade 11 law class students from Monsignor Paul Dwyer Secondary School, located near the high-collision intersection of Rossland Rd. W. and Stevenson Rd. in Oshawa.

Durham officer Keith Richards came up with the idea after realizing speeding tickets don’t work after four years as a traffic safety co-ordinator in Clarington. From TheStar.com:

The idea was to teach safe driving principles to both drivers and students, who included statistics, consequences of bad driving and personal tales in their messages delivered at a mobile command unit…

“This is a damn good idea,” said Ryan [one of the motorists pulled over], dabbing at her eyes. “It really touched me. It can save a life.”

The program empowers the students, gives drivers a choice, and provides education to both the students and drivers, new and seasoned. Despite its astounding success, the program is initiated infrequently because police prefer to have tangible evidence of offenders, such as a speeding ticket.