The Resource Training Center is issuing a special challenge this week to the parents of all teen drivers with a special “5 to Drive” campaign encouraging parents to always set the rules before their teens hit the road.

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teens in America. In 2011, 2,105 teen drivers were involved in fatal crashes – with almost half (45 percent) of those teen drivers being killed in those crashes.

As a graduating senior at Tonawanda High School, John Gorman had an idea about what he wanted to pursue for his career, he just wasn’t entirely sure how to put his plan into action. He had just completed the auto tech program offered through Erie 1 BOCES, and he was quite good at it.

So good, in fact, that John and a classmate took part in the annual Niagara Frontier Auto Dealers Association/Ron Smith Memorial AutoTech Competition and finished in second place. That achievement led to the National Automotive Technology Competition in New York City, where the duo would finish in a very respectable seventh place against the strongest teams from across the country. 

Growing up in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Tyler O’Callahan loved to get his hands dirty tinkering with four wheelers and dirt bikes. So when he went on to Niagara Falls High School, it’s no wonder he decided to check out the Niagara Frontier Auto Dealers Association’s Ron Smith Memorial AutoTech Competition.

The local competition is open to Western New York high school juniors and seniors enrolled in a Career & Technical school automotive program. Junior’s get their first taste of the program by participating in a Tire Rodeo, while seniors have a chance to put their overall automotive skills to the test and earn scholarships and other prizes. O’Callahan, now 22, participated in both competitions and in his senior year, went on to win the local competition and earn a spot at the national competition.