“This is for people who want to volunteer their time to help provide driver’s training to new drivers,” Springfield deputy director of public safety Jason Via said at this month’s Haitian Coalition meeting.
Since Sept. 11, Ohio State Highway Patrol has been on patrol in Springfield following repeated complaints of reckless driving and driving without a license. Local officials have said that with a population of 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield, anecdotal evidence shows a high rate of crashes among inexperienced drivers. However, they have also said that there are driving concerns outside of this community, too.
According to an OSHP report between Sept. 11 and Oct. 6, OSHP made 411 “enforcement stops” with 200 “violation warnings.” Eighteen crashes were investigated, there were 142 distracted driving violations and 85 speed violations during this time period.
Participants will learn how to present a curriculum that is designed to help on-English speakers prepare for driver’s license tests at the BMV, Ohio Traffic Safety Office public information officer Judy Converse said. The class will also feature a one-hour module to help with in-car training for non-English speakers.
Participants must be licensed drivers and have an English understanding to allow them to “facilitate the curriculum to non-English speakers,” Converse said. Up to 25 people may participate and pre-registration is required. Registration can be completed at https://bit.ly/ELLtrainthetrainer.
According to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO), the training and its materials do not qualify community trainers as licensed driver training instructors, as licensed instructors are required to be associated with a driver training enterprise and complete a “rigorous training process.”
Community trainers cannot charge anyone attending a training, according to the OTSO.
The training covers information needed before driving, on traffic control devised like signs and signals, and on the road information like police interactions and driving laws.
To get a driver’s license in Ohio at age 18 or above, a temporary permit is required first, then the individual must pass a license knowledge test, followed by a skills test, according to the OTSO.
If an immigrant has a valid driver’s license from another country, it is valid in the U.S. and in Ohio. They can drive legally in the country and in Ohio for one year or until they establish residency. They must then obtain an Ohio — or other state in which they reside — driver’s license within 30 days.
During a road test, an interpreter is not allowed to be in the car, though they can be present during the temporary permit test, which is not a road test.
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