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Driving Angels urges Cincinnati schools to adopt teen driver-safety curriculum
Summary
Driving Angels presenters told the Healthy Neighborhoods committee their nonprofit offers a nine-month, student-led curriculum and diversion classes aimed at preventing teen driving deaths; the group urged Cincinnati Public Schools to adopt the materials and offered curriculum copies to city staff.
Vice Mayor hosted a presentation by Driving Angels on a volunteer-run program that "aims to prevent teen driving tragedies through education and diversion," Skip Phelps, the nonprofit's president, told the committee. Phelps said the group formed after a 2007 double fatality involving Northwest High School students and later local crashes prompted broader community action.
The presenters described two program strands: a nine-month, student-led high-school curriculum designed for repeated monthly messaging, and four-hour Saturday diversion classes taught by police, firefighters and UC trauma nurses that are recognized by Hamilton County juvenile court as an approved diversion option. "The curriculum is ready," Phelps said, adding the nonprofit has run dozens of classes and sustained outreach since 2009.
Why it matters: committee members said early education and school integration could reduce preventable teen fatalities and recommended staff connect the group with Cincinnati Public Schools. Patrick Quinn, a Colerain police traffic investigator who serves as Driving Angels'vice president, described program scale and referrals: agencies send youth after minor infractions (non-offender referrals are no cost to the referring agency), while court-ordered diversion may carry a fee. "These teen crashes are preventable," Quinn said.
Presenters gave cumulative program figures while answering council questions: they reported roughly 93 classes since 2009 and said the program has reached more than 2,800 students (presenters cited ~2,861 attendees) through a mix of diversion referrals and voluntary participation. Phelps said Driving Angels has about $39,000 in its nonprofit account to support outreach and curriculum distribution but has struggled to get high-school administrators to schedule in-person sessions; a postcard mailing to roughly 150 schools yielded one positive response, he said.
Council members asked how students are chosen for non-offender sessions and whether the curriculum could be integrated into driver'education. Presenters explained that law-enforcement agencies identify youth after minor infractions and that parents are asked to consent to free agency-arranged sessions; the diversion classes are a separate court-recognized pathway intended to keep juveniles out of the formal record if they complete the program.
The committee agreed to file the presentation for the public record and to try to connect Driving Angels with Cincinnati Public Schools for follow-up. The vice mayor said staff will make presenters' materials available with the committee agenda.
The presentation was filed and will be available on the committee agenda for public review; Healthy Neighborhoods staff indicated they will pursue follow-up with CPS and other partners.
