SEATTLE - Help is on the way for more than 350 driving students left stranded after the Sno-King Driving School abruptly shut its doors in late April.

Today a coalition of community-minded organizations stepped forward to help the students finish what they started. Insurance companies are donating money to help students pay for their remaining in-vehicle driving lessons and driving schools are donating classroom instruction and providing driving lessons at cost.

The Professional Driving Schools Association of Washington (PDSAW) has teamed with NW Insurance Council, Allstate, Enumclaw Insurance Group, Grange, PEMCO, State Farm and the Washington State Department of Licensing (WSDOL) to ensure these young drivers can continue earning their drivers licenses.

"The Professional Driving School Association of Washington felt it was necessary for these students to receive quality training, so our member schools are going the extra mile to help. Our goal is to quickly show these families the benefits of having a great driver training experience," said Fred Wright, PDSAW president.

NW Insurance Council and its member companies pledged $23,750 to help families cover the cost of replacement in-vehicle driving lessons.

"Because our members care about teens, we're helping these students get the training they need to drive safely and avoid future collisions," said Karl Newman, NW Insurance Council president. "Our contribution won't cover all the costs, so we are issuing a friendly challenge to other companies and industries to join us in helping make this bad situation better."

WSDOL is managing student records, determining the remaining instruction needed and contacting students and parents to announce the program.

NW Insurance Council is a nonprofit, public-education organization funded by member insurance companies serving Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

PDSAW is a non-profit driving school industry association dedicated to building a higher standard of driver training in our state. Member schools participating in this plan are 911 Driving School, Defensive Driver Training School, Munro's Driving School and SWERVE Driver Training.

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