National Teen Driver Safety Week, scheduled for Oct. 20–26, 2024, is an initiative dedicated to educating parents and teen drivers about the dangers of distracted driving and other critical risk factors. Vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death for youth under 25 in Texas and the U.S., and young drivers have a higher crash rate than older, more experienced drivers, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The goal of this week is to raise awareness of the challenges teens face behind the wheel, but also highlight the positive behaviors of our youngest road users.
youth transportation safety
Youth Transportation Safety Summit Combines All Generations of Highway Safety Leaders
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program held the first of its kind Youth Transportation Safety Summit May 15–17. This year’s event brought together young traffic safety ambassadors from junior high to college students alongside highway safety professionals for the first time in the program’s history. The summit provided a national […]
Teen Safety Advocates from Texas, Ohio and Nebraska Win Big in Annual Driving the Message Contest
Car crashes are a leading cause of death for teens 15 to 18 years old in the United States, second only to teen suicide. Teen drivers are at a higher risk of being in a car crash due to driver inexperience. That lack of expertise — coupled with speeding, distracted driving or other risky behaviors […]
TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat Program Partners With Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern has awarded a grant to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Teens in the Driver Seat program. These funds will support rail safety education and outreach to 100 high schools and middle schools throughout Georgia. The partnership will seek to raise awareness of the dangers around by railroad crossings. Tragically, a majority of […]
TTI’s Minjares-Kyle Promoted to Youth Transportation Safety Program Manager
After 35 years of service with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) — nearly 30 of that in a management position — Russell Henk resigned as program manager of the Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program effective June 30. “Creating the Teens in the Driver Seat® Program and leading the YTS team for the past 20 […]
TTI’s Youth Transportation Safety Program Awarded Two-Year Grant from Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad has awarded the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) Program a two-year grant to continue funding transportation safety initiatives tailored to educating young people. The grant serves as an extension of a three-year partnership between YTS and Union Pacific and will contribute tremendously to the expansion of programs and […]
College Students, Traffic Safety Professionals Attend Virtual 2020 U in the Driver Seat Symposium
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) U in the Driver Seat (UDS) education and outreach program held its virtual 2020 UDS Symposium Oct. 7–9. Now in its eighth year, the symposium raises awareness about the leading cause of death for young adults ages 18–25 — traffic crashes. This year’s theme was “recharge to save lives […]
YTS Program Adapts Young Driver Outreach for Online Learning
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) program — part of the Institute’s Center for Transportation Safety — is active in schools and communities across the country. The program supports peer-led road safety education and outreach to encourage young drivers to practice safe driving behaviors. When schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
TTI’s Henk Appointed Chair of the Texas Teen Safe Driving Coalition
With the last 15 years of his professional career dedicated to the safety of teen drivers and their passengers, Russell Henk, senior research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), has been named chairperson of Texas’ Teen Safe Driving Coalition — a partnership led by the National Safety Council. Henk is the program manager […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® Celebrates 15 Years of Success
Teens in the Driver Seat®(TDS), the first peer-to-peer program for teens that focuses solely on traffic safety and addresses all major risks for this age group, recently reached a milestone anniversary of 15 years. View TDS 15 Year Report Card According to TDS Founder and Director Russell Henk, this year the program will provide more […]