Teens in the Driver Seat holds annual summit

Teens across Texas and Georgia united for a weekend of learning and entertainment as the Youth Transportation Safety Program hosted their Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) Summit at the Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Hotel Conference Center on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Summit featured expert presenters and safety advocates with breakout sessions and interactive activities targeted at convincing teen drivers and passengers that they have the power to change risky driving behaviors — to save their own lives and the lives of others on the road. 

The event was supported by the Texas Department of Transportation, Union Pacific Railroad, State Farm, General Motors and others. Teen Advisory Board (TAB) members kicked off the summit with a Saturday board meeting then volunteered to present and host interactive exhibits on Sunday during the main event. 

“I really enjoy talking to my peers about distracted driving. It isn’t until I show them with a hands-on game or activity that they understand how driving distracted is dangerous,” TAB Co-Chair Adrian Garcia said. “I tell my peers that driving should be your only task in the car.” 

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2017 motor-vehicle crashes were the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths for youth ages 10-24 and have been the leading cause for more than 10 years. Last year 219 teens, ages 11-18, lost their lives on Texas roads. 

The Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute set out to change this statistic through positive youth-led prevention that now takes place on junior high, high school and college campuses around the country. Since 2002, TxDOT has sponsored the TDS program making support and resources free in the state of Texas. 

“Teens in the Driver Seat has been a great partner and continues to push the envelope in teen traffic safety education,” said Terry Pence, TxDOT Behavioral Traffic Safety section director. “In May, the Texas Transportation Commission approved a goal aiming to end all fatalities on Texas roads by 2050. If we want to reach zero fatal crashes, then we must empower the next generation of traffic safety advocates.” 

The event concluded by recognizing the Teens in the Driver Seat All-Star schools for their hard work in spreading the safe driving message year-round. Thanks to sponsors Union Pacific, State Farm and General Motors schools were awarded over $10,000 through the All-Star reward program in various states. The money goes to the top TDS teams who use the money towards building an even stronger TDS program and grassroots traffic safety outreach in their community. Year after year students across the nation commit to participate in the cause to reduce preventable teen car crashes. 

Teens in the Driver Seat is an initiative under the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program. The YTS mission is to saves lives and prevent injury among youth through education, empowerment, and peer-led outreach. The growth of the Teens in the Driver Seat program, since its inception in Texas, has expanded to over 1.4 million students in more than 1,600 schools.