Free driving courses in Wood County teach young people how to avoid accidents

PERRYSBURG, Ohio – According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there were 290 fatal traffic crashes involving teens in Ohio in 2022, and 31% of all crashes statewide involved people under 24.

In view of the continuing increase in accident rates, educators want to change the statistics and claim that everything starts before the students even take their first ride.

Dayton-based Professional Driving Systems hosted free classes at Owens Community College over the weekend where students could practice practical accident avoidance techniques.

The partnership between PDS, the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Ohio Traffic Office initially began as an initiative of the office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Each lesson lasts six and a half hours and includes time in the classroom as well as driving practice on a closed track.

From skid correction to ABS braking exercises to straight-line braking drills, lessons focus on evasive maneuvers that students can use in an emergency.

“When you see how many teen drivers die each year, you have to remember that many of them could have been avoided. We don't call them accidents, crashes or collisions. They happen for a reason, they happen for a reason,” said PDS owner Jeff Caldwell.

Theresa Rogers brought her daughter Callie from Columbus to the course and said it made her feel good the next time her daughter gets behind the wheel.

“I feel much better now, especially in terms of situations that can occur here in Ohio, like black ice or the car skidding if you brake incorrectly. These are things that she can't necessarily control as a novice driver,” Theresa said.

“I think it will give them experience before they have an accident or get into a situation. It will give them a lot more knowledge than they would get from driving school alone,” she added.

Learning both inside and outside the classroom is also valuable, Callie said.

“If you don't learn how to act in the situation, you can put yourself and other people at risk. That's why it's best to know how to prepare for the situation before you actually face it,” she said.

Caldwell said the ultimate goal of the courses is to save the lives of teenagers by giving them the tools they need to know what to do on the road.

“Our goal at Professional Driving Systems is to save teens' lives. We believe that if we give teens more skills, we can reduce the crash rate because now they understand the car a little bit better, they understand the dynamics and they know, 'I shouldn't do that because I know this is what's going to happen if I do,'” Caldwell said.