To try and reduce the number of local vehicle-related teen deaths, one the Santa Clarita Valley’s largest employers of 16- to 19-year-olds is putting the finishing touches on its new safe driving awareness program, which launches Monday…

 The program, “Stay Alive on the Drive,” asks teens to drive safely for one week in exchange for freebies and discounts from local merchants, according to Courtney Bourdas-Henn, the director of marketing for Mountasia Fun Center, which created the pilot program.
    “The age group that is dying in traffic accidents is the age group that is the biggest part of our work family and the age group we cater too,” she said Friday. “We want to do what we can to let these kids know there are alternatives.”
    Mountasia in Santa Clarita employs nearly 100 part-time employees annually. Bourdas-Henn said most of the company’s part-time employees are students aged 16 to 19. Mountasia is owned by Entertainment Centers Inc., which also owns Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant in Santa Clarita and Skateland in Northridge.
    Bourdas-Henn said she came up with the idea for the program after reading about two local teenagers who died on Soledad Canyon Road in September.

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