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Reduce Teen Crashes was created in Tennessee in 2013 by iCube, a grant-funded office, at Tennessee Tech University. iCube partners with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, the Tennessee Department of Health, the National Safety Council, and many more to promote health and safety initiatives. This program was designed to educate high school students on how to become safer and smarter drivers. This program is now offered in five states!
Access Tennessee-specific traffic safety resources and programs through the Tennessee Highway Safety Office.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security advocating for traffic safety. The Tennessee Highway Safety Office works in tandem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to implement statewide programs addressing occupant protection, impaired driving, speed enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and crash data collection and analysis. Programs administered by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office are 100 percent federally funded. The mission of the Tennessee Highway Safety Office is to reduce Tennessee traffic fatalities as part of the nation’s vision Toward Zero Deaths. The Tennessee Highway Safety Office works to achieve this goal by changing driver behavior through increased education, enforcement, and community partnerships.
ReduceTNCrashes.org is designed as a portal to connect schools with teen traffic safety activities available in the United States. Activities range from basic saturation, such as posting “Buckle Up” signs in school parking lots, to outreach through community events and safety awareness days.
By providing teen crash rate data in a growing list of safe driving activities, Reduce TN Crashes raises awareness of the need for safe driving programs, provides the tools to find crash reduction activities, and awards points to schools for completing and submitting pictures of their experiences. Safety Awards provided by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) are sent to the schools in recognition of student efforts to educate their peers and reduce teen crashes by promoting safe driving practices at home, in the school, and throughout the community.
Schools earn Gold by achieving 3000 points or more. Schools will be recognized on the virtual leaderboard and receive awards given by the Tennessee Highway Safety Office at the end of each year.
Schools earn Silver by completing activities totaling 1300 points. Schools will be recognized on the virtual leaderboard and receive a certificate at the end of the year acknowledging the students’ hard work.
Schools earn Bronze by completing at least one activity on the site. Schools will be recognized on the virtual leaderboard.
All schools will start the fall semester with a score of zero and spend the year working their way back up the leaderboard by completing activities and submitting them for points. Participating schools will receive an award at the end of the school year indicating their placement: Bronze, Silver, or Gold. At the end of the school year, the points will reset for the next year.
Activities are worth different point values based on two factors: how many people are involved and how much time the activity takes to complete. Individual activities and shorter projects earn fewer points, while larger group or schoolwide efforts that require more time earn higher rewards. This system encourages schools to participate in a variety of meaningful traffic safety activities throughout the year while working toward Bronze, Silver, or Gold recognition.
Reduce Teen Crashes is currently in five states and would like to work with more! If you are interested in having a fun, interactive way to introduce your high school students to more traffic safety topics, click the Onboard Your State button! Our team can work with your state to come up with site design, an onboarding kit full of designed materials, and ways in which we have made the program successful in our state, Tennessee.
