Teens Driving Efforts to Raise Roadway Awareness
Posted on 10/17/2022
Jordan Arfanakis, a senior at Chapel Hill High School (CHHS), is the founder and president of Chapel Hill’s Teens In the Driver Seat program. She found out about Teens In The Driver Seat (TDS) after Lin Snowe, former Cobb Douglas Public Health employee and current Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Safe Kids Program coordinator, asked for help establishing TDS in the West Georgia region. TDS, founded by Texas A&M, aims to raise awareness for traffic safety and all major driving risks for teens. Jordan is pictured on the left with her mom, Katie.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found I-20 to be the second most dangerous highway in the United States. Therefore, helping students and their families realize the dangers of driving, including impaired driving, distracted driving, and big rigs, will hopefully reduce the number of accidents in our community.
At CHHS, the TDS program has kicked off to a great start. They recently hosted a Big Rig Event at a Friday night football game to show students how to drive safely near semis. Volunteers and truck-connoisseurs, Kirk and Sammy, let students sit in a semi truck and showed them how semis cannot see you in their mirrors. Therefore, drivers need to be extra careful when driving next to semis. The event was a huge success with almost 100 visitors. Students enjoyed the giveaways at the Big Rig Event, including candy and t-shirts.
Up next, TDS will have drunk goggles and go karts to be used in an obstacle course at the school’s homecoming pep rally. This will help simulate the dangers of impaired driving. As for the rest of the year, the program plans to place safe driving tips on the back of prom tickets to encourage students to be responsible, have students pledge to drive sober by signing a community poster, participate in Texas A&M’s study on seat belt use, and more.
“Since I am a senior, I am hoping to pass the torch to an underclassman to continue the program. If there is anyone who is interested in leading this advantageous initiative, please don’t hesitate to reach out,” said Jordan Arfanakis.
Principal Nicole Watson is a fan of the TDS program. She says, “Jordan is a great ambassador for our school and does an excellent job coordinating TDS activities. At the Big Rig Event, students had the chance to see the tools and technology truck drivers use. Seeing inside the cab of a big rig will help our teen drivers make better decisions behind the wheel.”