Student performance in the driving skills portion of the competition was judged on accuracy rather than speed.
PHOENIXVILLE — Teens from across Chester, Delaware, Bucks and Philadelphia Counties gathered at Technical College High School (TCHS) Pickering Campus in Phoenixville on Tuesday, April 5 to take part in the third annual Teen Safe Driving Competition for southeastern PA.
The event kicked off with an information session and panel discussion about why safe driving education is important. “I don’t get to see a lot of safe driving from teens,” Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan remarked. “That’s why we’re here today. To celebrate the safe driver.”
Each of the panelists shared a unique and valuable perspective on safe driving. Jeff McCloskey, firefighter and EMT from Concordville Fire & Protection Association, State Trooper Timothy Greene, and Charles Gaza, Chief of Staff for the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, described what it is like to arrive at the scene of collision and what they do in their roles.
Dr. Stanton Miller, founding director of the Jefferson Center for Injury Research and Prevention talked about the severe impact a collision has on the human body and the challenges of repairing the damage. Chris Weersing confirmed these challenges, speaking from experience. After hitting a tree at approximately 40 miles per hour, Weersing spent 10 days in a coma. He woke to find he had suffered severe brain damage. He was paralyzed on the left side of his body and had to learn how to eat, talk and walk again at age 22.
The students took the sobering messages to heart and asked the panelists a wide variety of questions. One point the panelists agreed on was their avoidance of the term “accident.” Green does not use the term to describe collisions caused by drunk or distracted driving. “Those can be prevented. An accident can’t be prevented,” he stated. Stanton says that, at the hospital, they see the injuries more as a disease, one that can be managed and possibly prevented through education.
After the panel discussion, the students were split into groups and the competition began. There were three events: a written test, a perceptual driving slide test and a driving skills test.
The written test was much like a driver’s license exam. The perceptual challenge was more visual, requiring students to identify illegal or unsafe driving behaviors in images.
In the driving tests, students had to navigate an obstacle course. The object was not speed, but precision. How close could they get to the obstacles without touching them? How well could they judge the position of the vehicle? The vehicles used in this portion of the competition were provided by Kelly Chevrolet.
Awards were presented for the top three participants in each category of the competition. The overall winners were determined by the combined scores for each challenge. Austin Wilson from Chichester High School came in first, winning $2,000 in scholarship money. Jared Stanaitis from Sun Valley High School came in second place for $1,000 and Eric Otto from TCHS Pennock’s Bridge earned $500 in third place. All three students won a AAA membership. Wilson and Stanaitis will be invited to attend the state competition in May at the Radisson in Harrisburg where they will join other qualifiers in competing for the first place prize of $5,000.
This event was organized by the Bucks County Transportation Management Association, Chester County Highway Safety Project, Delaware County Transportation Management Association, and Street Smarts – Philadelphia Highway Safety Project.
Sponsors and volunteers made the event possible. Law enforcement representatives from Coatesville, Radnor Township and West Whiteland police departments were present. AAA Mid-Atlantic, Bergey’s Truck Centers, Mustang Expediting Trucking, Chester County Health Department, ECBM, Girls Auto Clinic, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Paoli Hospital and State Farm Insurance all contributed in their own way.
Officials from TCHS Pickering consider the event a success and look forward to hosting fourth annual Teen Safe Driving Competition next year.
