Ohio students lead traffic safety push at Amherst summit

About 100 students will gather Nov. 5 at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst for a youth traffic safety summit backed by Impact Teen Drivers, Safe Kids Worldwide, ODOT and State Farm. The event is designed to train students to spread safer-driving messages in their schools and communities and help prevent crashes and serious injuries.

Why it matters: - The Summit aims to turn students into peer leaders who can influence driving habits in their schools, families and communities. - Organizers say the effort is meant to help prevent crashes, serious injuries and traffic deaths. - ODOT Director Pamela Boratyn said traffic deaths have been declining for four straight years, and the goal is to keep that trend going.

What happened: - About 100 students will take part in Be the Change on Nov. 5, 2026, at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst, Ohio. - Impact Teen Drivers and Safe Kids Worldwide developed the youth traffic safety leadership initiative. - The Summit is hosted at Marion L. Steele High School with funding support from the Ohio Department of Transportation and State Farm. - Students from the Amherst Steele High School Medical Health Technology Program are helping plan and host the event.

The details: - Participants will get evidence-based traffic safety education, interactive activities and peer discussions. - The program focuses on preventing reckless and distracted driving, shared responsibility on the road and reducing crashes and serious injuries. - A rollover simulator from the Ohio Department of Public Safety's Ohio Traffic Safety Office will be available. - Amherst Fire Chief Brandon Dimacchia and Amherst Police Chief Mark Cawthon will attend. - The event runs from 8:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at the Creative Learning Space, Marion L. Steele High School, 450 Washington Street, Amherst, OH 44001. - Students attending will come from Marion L. Steele High School and surrounding communities. - The Amherst Steele High School Medical Health Technology Program has partnered with Impact Teen Drivers for more than five years.

Between the lines: - The summit uses a peer-to-peer model because young people often shape the choices of other young people. - Kim Haney, a teacher at Amherst Steele High School, said the partnership gives students a chance to connect health and injury-prevention lessons to real-world action. - The event also extends traffic safety outreach beyond a one-day program by asking students to build plans for safer behavior in their schools and communities. - Impact Teen Drivers is positioning student advocates as a long-term network for roadway safety education.

What's next: - Students will develop plans to promote safer behaviors after the Summit. - Organizers expect participants to carry the traffic safety messages back into their schools and communities. - The program is intended to build a sustainable network of youth traffic safety advocates.

The bottom line: - Amherst students are being recruited not just to learn about traffic safety, but to lead it. They will leave with tools to push safer choices where peer influence matters most.