Guiding Ohio’s Young Drivers
For many Ohio families, teaching a teen to drive is one of the most exciting — and nerve-racking — milestones they’ll face together. Between navigating Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) requirements, understanding crash risks and finding safe opportunities for supervised practice, parents often wonder where to start. The Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO), a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, offers three initiatives designed to help: the Teach Your Teen to Drive campaign, the RoadReady Ohio mobile app and the Drive to Succeed scholarship program.
Together, these efforts aim to make learning to drive safer, more accessible and less stressful for Ohio families.
OTSO’s Teach Your Teen to Drive campaign encourages parents to take an active role in the 50 hours of supervised driving practice required before teens can earn a probationary license. The campaign compares those hours to the time teens devote to extracurricular activities — reinforcing that driving, like any skill, takes practice and patience. Families can visit the Teach Your Teen to Drive website for tools including the Teen Driver Roadmap, featured videos, online safety courses and the Teen Crash Dash, which highlights key teen crash data.
OTSO aims to make that coaching role easier with clear resources that guide families from the temporary permit phase through full licensure.
One of the biggest hurdles for families is tracking the required 50 practice hours — and ensuring those hours are meaningful. The free RoadReady Ohio app helps driving supervisors and teens log each session while receiving feedback on braking, acceleration, turning and speed.
The app uses telematics to score drives and offer suggestions for improvement, helping teens build safer habits. More than 54,000 users have created accounts statewide.
Once practice hours are complete, the app automatically generates the official Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) driving log and affidavit, saving families time and meeting updated documentation requirements.
In 2025, OTSO expanded the program with $6 million in funding, enough to support new drivers through 2027. Scholarships are distributed through regional educational service centers, giving teens in all 88 counties access to training — especially important now that Ohio has expanded mandatory driver education requirements for first-time license applicants ages 18 to 20.
Supporting Parents, Empowering Teens,
OTSO’s programs help families understand these risks and equip parents with tools to guide teens safely through the learning process.
Download the app at otso.ohio.gov/programs/ohio-driver-training/for-drivers/parents-and-teens.