COLUMBUS – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO) has announced that two more new videos aimed at reducing teen crashes have been released for National Youth Traffic Safety Month in May. The release coincides with what’s known as the “100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when teen driver-related fatalities historically spike.
“Drivers under age 24 are involved in 31% of all crashes in Ohio, but only make up about 13% of licensed Ohio drivers,” said DeWine. “Most crashes can be prevented, which is why education is key to help young people develop important critical driving skills.”
The new videos are the third and fourth in the series that are intended to be included as part of the required 24 hours of classroom instruction in Driver Education classes across Ohio. In one video, the young hosts “Ava” and “Noah,” explain the stages of Ohio’s Graduated Driver’s License program as it applies to teen drivers under the age of 18. The other new video informs young drivers about the top reasons for crashes in Ohio and provides some tips to avoid being involved in a crash.
“These videos were designed to create a meaningful impact on young people just beginning to learn to drive,” said Emily Davidson, OTSO executive director. “Youth are influenced in different ways than their parents or grandparents, and they expect messages to be relatable and to merge seamlessly with their lives.”
Ohio is one of only 15 states with comprehensive licensing requirements that include behind-the-wheel training at a licensed driving school, in addition to classroom or online instruction, parent-supervised practice driving, and learner permit holding periods. A study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that new drivers in Ohio under age 18 who complete the mandatory driver education were less likely to crash than drivers licensed at age 18 who are exempt from these requirements.
Researchers at CHOP also found that compared with drivers licensed at age 18, those licensed at age 16 had 27% lower crash rates over the first two months of licensure and 14% lower crash rates over the first 12 months of licensure.
In addition, 16-year-old license applicants performed best of all those licensed under age 25 on the on-road license examination, with a 22% failure rate compared with a 37% failure rate at age 18.
OTSO’s other videos cover topics like distracted driving and sharing the road.
See the new teen driver safety videos on YouTube – “The DL on GDL”: https://youtu.be/5-u-mtZFCLY
“Top Reasons for Crashes”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f6aODrUjsg.
