Background of Teen Driving Roadeo
The teens attending the free event and will go through a gamut of safe driving drills and exercises, including maneuverability driving skill courses and vehicle maintenance. The day is designed to give local teens the necessary skills to be safe on the road.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of American teenagers and teens, accounting for over one-third of all deaths for those aged 15- 19.
Idea Initiated by Franklin County Safe Community
The Teen Driving Roadeo was an idea that was initiated by the Franklin County Safe Community in 2007. The first Teen Driving Roadeo took place in September 2007 with approximately 55 teens from the Dublin Ohio area participating.
The Dublin area was chosen because it was noted it had a high teen accident rate in the area. In 2008 the Healthy Community/Healthy Youth Coalition of Dublin and the Kiwanis Club of Greater Dublin took over the orchestration of the event, and had approximately 85 teens in attendance.
Kiwanis Club of Greater Dublin Became Host in 2009
The Kiwanis Club of Greater Dublin became the host organization for the 2009 Teen Driving Roadeo with approximately 96 teen drivers participating in the day’s activities.Because of an early morning rain and no way of contacting those who registered to let them know the event was still scheduled, approximately 100 students of the 153 who registered participated.
The day’s activities include:
- Driving stations
- Learning stations
- Mid-Ohio skid car
- Distraction driving stations
- Motorcycle safety
- CPR - American Red Cross
- Reenactment of an accident scene with the Washington Township Fire Department rescuing a trapped accident victim and Med Flight landing to provide aide. It is quite a moving reenactment that definitely is an attention getter!
The skid car is a Honda Civic externally mounted on a hydraulic set of wheels that can be adjusted to simulate driving in inclement weather conditions. As the car skids and spins, the student learns how to remain calm and gain control of the car, an especially practical skill in the Ohio winter.
Free to Teens to Attend
This event is free to the teens and those attending receive gifts and food:
Some of the gifts teen receive have included:
- Safety Kit
- Gas Card
- T-shirts
- Ice Cream
- Pizza
- Prizes
This year’s event will be on September 30, 2012 and will have the various learning stations and reenactment as in years past. In addition, there will be a DJ to provide entertainment, and a series of seminars, 10-15 minutes in lengt,h for both teens and parents centered around safe driving.
Volunteers for The Roadeo
- The Kiwanis Club of Greater Dublin provides volunteers necessary for setup
- Two Dublin teen organizations provides teen volunteers to assist in moving the attendees through the activities and act as ambassadors for the event
- City of Dublin Police Department provides police to coordinate the Driving station;=
- Ohio Highway Patrol
- Washington Township Fire Department
- Franklin County Safe Communities
- Dublin’s Crowne Mercedes/Jeep dealership
- City of Dublin employees from various departments
- Ashland Inc. in providing the use of their parking lot for the event
- Sponsors- Some include Motorists Insurance, Key Bank, Dublin Methodist Hospital, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
- American Red Cross
At the 2009 Teen Driving Roadeo, four members of the Macon, GA Kiwanis Club attended to observe how the TDR was run; they initiated their own TDR program in April 2010.