The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Northwest Regional Highway Safety Network, the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association Northwest Chapter, and local law enforcement held a Teen Driver Safety Competition in Erie on Monday, April 17th, three student drivers from each school competed in the Annual Teen Driving Competition at Grace Church, 7300 Grubb Rd.
Participants must have at least 1 year of driving experience (Permit period & current license) - No moving violations & No crashes.
This is the 15th time Erie County has hosted the contest, which allowed 27 students from various Erie County high schools to compete for more than $1,800 in prizes.
The competition included a combination of a slow-drive obstacle course at the Grace Church in McKean, a pre-trip vehicle assessment, and written tests to determine the county’s top teen driver.
Pennsylvania State Police, local law enforcement officers, professional truck drivers, and other driving experts were on hand Monday to administer the exams.
Evan Calvert of Cathedral Prep High School earned the top spot in the competition and was awarded $1,000. Second place and $500 went to Miranda Shafer of North East High School. The third-place prize of $300 was awarded to Benjamin Burkhardt of Iroquois High School
The three-person team of Burkhardt, Thomas Shewalter, and Madison Chew from Iroquois High School had the highest group score. The participants’ names will be added to the county’s traveling trophy, which will be displayed at the winning school for the next year.
The cash prizes were donated by local Allstate representative, the Matt Barczyk Agency.
In addition to the businesses already listed, partners for the Erie County competition included Vorzik Transport, Great Lakes Insurance Services Group, LLC, Lori’s Wildridge Restaurant, Curtze Food Service, Erie County Department of Health, Transportation Solutions, UPMC Hamot, English Tire, and Hallman Chevrolet.
For more information on teen driving safety, visit www.penndot.pa.gov/safety.
Congratulations BRAVES!!
(From left) Benjamin Burkhardt of Iroquois High School, Miranda Shafer of North East High School, and Evan Calvert of Cathedral Prep High School were the top three performers in the 2023 Teen Driver Safety Competition in Erie County. Also pictured (from left) are Event founder Dale Knox, Trooper Andrew Hacke of the Pennsylvania State Police, and Judge Scott Hammer.
(From left) Thomas Shewalter, Benjamin Burkhardt, and Madison Chew from Iroquois High School had the highest group score during today’s Erie County Teen Driving Competition.
AWESOME JOB ALL OF YOU!!