What is YOVASO?

YOVASO (Youth of Virginia Speak Out) is a youth leadership organization focused on saving the lives of teenage drivers. We do this by educating, encouraging and empowering teenagers to be traffic safety advocates in their schools and communities. YOVASO wants to involve young people in this issue so that together we can develop positive solutions for this serious problem. After all, traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers between the ages of 16 and 20.

YOVASO helps students and school administrators set up a YOVASO Club or expand an already existing club to include safe driving initiatives. Trainings, support materials, safety campaigns, and staff assistance are all free. YOVASO provides its student leaders and club members with yearly training sessions to help them speak out confidently about safe teen driving and positive solutions. In addition to school trainings, YOVASO offers leadership retreats and participation in state and national traffic safety conferences for students who want to be more actively involved in teen safe driving efforts. YOVASO also offers internships to its top students and graduating seniors may apply for YOVASO Trainer Positions if they are enrolling at a Virginia College.

YOVASO tracks teen fatalities in Virginia and continuously monitors the top causative factors in teen crashes. This enables our students to make the best decisions about prevention programs for their schools and communities.

Our focus areas include:

Seat Belt Usage - 60% of the teenagers killed on Virginia’s roadways in 2009 were not wearing a seat belt.

Running Off The Road & Overcorrecting – 33% of the fatal crashes involving teen drivers in 2009 were caused by this common teen driving error.

Speeding – 49% of the fatal crashes involving teen drivers in 2009 were caused by excessive speed.

Alcohol / Drug Use - 35% of the fatal crashes involving teen drivers in 2009 were caused by impaired driving.

Driver Inattention – Talking on cell phones, text messaging, playing with the radio/CD Player, or being distracted by teen passengers caused 19% of the fatal crashes involving teen drivers in 2009.

Teen Curfews and Teen Passenger Restriction Laws - Statistics show that teen crashes increase after midnight and when there are multiple teen passengers in the vehicle.

Teen drivers caused a total of 92 fatal crashes in 2009.

What are YOVASO’s Goals?

YOVASO’s ultimate goal is to help save the lives of teenage drivers. We work towards this goal by:

Educating teams of high school students about traffic safety.

Encouraging students to take action regarding traffic safety in their schools and communities.

Empowering students to speak out and make a difference by providing them the knowledge and resources to be traffic safety advocates in their schools and communities.

YOVASO also works to establish an active YOVASO club or other Safe Teen Driving Club in every high school in Virginia; we provide youth a vehicle for speaking out and effecting positive changes for teenage drivers; and we serve as a resource for the citizens of Virginia on youth traffic safety issues.

How did we start?

YOVASO was started in Roanoke, Virginia in 2001 in response to the increasing number of teenage-related traffic fatalities in Virginia and the fact that car crashes continue to be the #1 killer of teenagers. Over 1,200 teens have died in traffic crashes in Virginia since 1999. Approximately, 140 teens die annually in motor vehicle crashes in Virginia.

How are we funded?

YOVASO is a non-profit organization that is federally funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

The Virginia State Police Association (VSPA) administers the grant and sponsors YOVASO.

Erie Insurance and its Lookin’ Out Program is also partnered with YOVASO and provides grant funds to trained YOVASO schools.

All training, resources, and retreats are FREE to YOVASO schools.

How is YOVASO staffed?

YOVASO is run by an administrative staff with an office based in Roanoke, Va. Other staffing includes:

YOVASO Interns. These are high school students who want a leadership role in YOVASO in addition to working with their school club. They track teen-related traffic crashes in each school district, organize special campaigns, participate in state and national conferences and fill other vital roles for YOVASO headquarters.

YOVASO Regional Trainers. These are college students based at universities throughout the state. They enable the program to provide training, ongoing assistance and resources to schools statewide. YOVASO Regional Trainers were members of their high school YOVASO clubs and also worked as YOVASO interns.

How Can My School Become a YOVASO School?

Simply read over the Step By Step Guide in the How to Join section and contact YOVASO Headquarters at (540) 345-0003 to set up an informational meeting and a training. Our goal is to be a statewide program and every high school in Virginia is encouraged to participate.