The Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO), a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, is hosting free hands-on training this summer for teen drivers across the state to practice crash avoidance techniques and gain the experience necessary to become safer drivers.

Classes will be held on June 19 and 20 at the Canfield Fairgrounds. Instructors from Ohio-based Drive Team will provide the training at two four-hour sessions each day.

All Canfield sessions are full, but six more events will be held across the state through the end of September for newly-licensed drivers or teens with a valid temporary permit. The full schedule with links to register are on OTSO's Advanced Driver Training webpage. 

The summer training is being conducted during the "100 deadliest days." This is the time period between Memorial Day and Labor Day that historically accounts for more than a third of all fatal crashes.

In 2023, there were 102 fatal youth-related crashes in Ohio during the "100 deadliest days," about one fatality each day. Drivers under the age of 24 were involved in nearly 30% of all crashes.

There were 1,556 youth-related crashes in Mahoning County alone in 2023, averaging about 4 crashes every day.