Belmont County 4-H Carteens Program Gets Driving Simulator
Thanks to a $25,000 grant from State Farm Insurance, teens around the state will have access to a new tool to learn about the dangers of distracted driving.
Belmont County 4-H Carteens Program Gets Driving Simulator
Distracted driving can be deadly, particularly to teens. In fact, motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for U.S. teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.
Thanks to a $25,000 grant from State Farm Insurance, teens around the state will have access to a new tool to learn about the dangers of distracted driving. In Ohio, 48 counties offer the 4-H Carteens program, a safe-driving intervention program coordinated by Ohio State University Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program. Of those 48 counties, 38 participated in the State Farm grant that purchased the “BRDrivingSimExm” simulators to use in Carteens including Belmont County.
James L. Jordan, Extension Educator based in Butler County, examined the effectiveness of 4-H Carteens last year as part of his Ph.D. program. More than 8,400 Ohio teens participate each year in 4-H Carteens, which is taught by teenage volunteers primarily to first-time juvenile traffic offenders. Many of the teen instructors have gone through 4-H Carteens programs themselves. The teens are mentored by juvenile court judges, Ohio State Highway Patrol officers and 4-H youth development educators.
“My research showed that distracted driving was the number one risky driving behavior, even more than speeding,” Jordan said. “The teens performed some type of distracted driving about 30 times a month – whether it was texting, playing with the radio, horsing around with others in the car, eating, putting on makeup, even shaving!” said Jordan. “Since teens are very inexperienced drivers, they’re particularly at greater risk,” said Jordan.
The driving simulators, which consist of software that connects a computer screen with the simulator’s steering wheel, accelerator and stick shift, offer 28 different distracted-driving scenarios in both urban and rural settings.
“We are excited to begin using the simulator in the Belmont County program this month,” said Jane Keyser, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development in Belmont County. “I am seeing more and more participants with distracted driving offenses, and the simulators will demonstrate how easily you can lose control of your vehicle,” she said.
Jane E. Keyser
Extension Educator
4-H Youth Development
