Ohio officials worked together to caution teenage drivers while on the road during National Youth Traffic Safety Month.
National Youth Traffic Safety Month, scheduled for the month of May, aims to prevent injuries and even deaths on the road by cautioning teenage drivers to travel safely.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Traffic Safety Office created and announced their new educational video aimed at teenage drivers.
“Any time we can provide more educational resources for Ohio’s young drivers, it makes our roads safer for everyone,” said Governor DeWine. “The safe habits they adopt now will increase the likelihood that they become safe drivers over their lifetimes.”
The five-minute video featured young hosts “Ava” and “Noah,” explaining Ohio’s traffic laws when it comes to sharing the road with bicyclists, school buses, large trucks, emergency vehicles, and pedestrians, the spokesperson for the governor’s office said.
The video was designed to be included into the required 24 hours of classroom instruction in Driver Education classes across Ohio.
“The first video we produced for teen drivers was so well-received across the state, that we knew we had to do more,” Emily Davidson, executive director of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, said.
As a result, the upcoming videos were intended to be a part of a series of information videos.
The videos came after transportation agencies reported hundreds of deaths due to youth-related crashes. 290 deaths were recorded in 2022 from crashes involving 15- to 24-year-olds, accounting for almost 24 percent of all crashes.
Young drivers under 24 years old also accounted for 31 percent of all Ohio crashes. Hamilton County reported the highest number of youth-related crashes with 48,696 crashes since 2018.
Early estimates from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed Ohio ranked ninth in the nation for motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2022, the spokesperson said.
As a result, teenagers and young adults were encouraged to watch the educational video on the Ohio Public Safety YouTube account.