Events Calendar
In This Section
KSU plans $200 million in improvements
Falls official proposes settlement
School board bickers over Buchtel
Foreign visitors study STEM school
Day with Warren Buffett enriching to UA students
Wine offers a taste of KSU's centennial
Web sites offer help in finding scholarships
Most Read Stories
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Poor machine maintenance blamed for fire at Akron business
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Indians add 7 players to 40-man roster
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Hey, somebody's gotta stick up for the Browns
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By John Higgins
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:40 p.m. EDT, Apr 25, 2009
Motorists could help a Medina County father's quest to use simulators to train teen drivers if the state legislature passes a bill creating a special fundraising license plate.
Ray Sanderbeck, whose 15-year-old daughter, Michelle, was killed in a traffic accident in 2006, has led the effort to improve driver education with the simulators through the Michelle's Leading Star Foundation, named for his daughter.
The machines use computer graphics to simulate increasing levels of driving difficulty in a variety of landscapes and weather conditions. Lessons on driver safety complement practice in the simulators.
Sanderbeck said his goal is ''to bring awareness and, hopefully, bring it into other schools.''
Ohio House Minority Leader William Batchelder, R-Medina, recently introduced House Bill 133 to create the license plate, which would direct a $15 contribution to a fund to buy simulators. Vehicle owners would pay $25 above the cost of a regular plate, with $10 covering administrative costs of issuing the special tag.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety would use the contributions ''solely to fund the rental, lease or purchase of the simulated driving curriculum of the Michelle's Leading Star Foundation by boards of education of city, exempted village, local and joint vocational school districts,'' according to the bill.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles would design the plate, which would include the words ''teen driver education'' and a logo in addition to the usual numbers and letters.
It wouldn't be the first time the Sanderbecks have changed Ohio law.
Michelle Sanderbeck was killed in a one-car accident while riding with three other teenage passengers and a 16-year-old driver who had held his license for only a month. Police determined that speed and the young driver's inexperience led to the crash.
Ray Sanderbeck and his wife, Debbie, inspired changes in Ohio's teen licensing laws, including a restriction that took effect in 2007. It says 16-year-old drivers may have only one nonfamily member as a passenger.
Sanderbeck, who lives in Montville Township, contributed driving simulators in a pilot program he helped teach last year at Medina High School.
The money for the first simulator came through a variety of grants, donations and fundraisers. Sanderbeck said the simulators cost about $10,000 each.
''It's not so much about [teaching basic] driving. I do teach them over 200 defensive driving conditions,'' Sanderbeck said. He volunteers to teach the three-week course six periods a day.
More than 200 students have gone through the Medina program. The course proved so effective in increasing student driving performance, it's now an elective in the school's regular health curriculum.
''My original goal was just to bring it into Medina,'' Sanderbeck said. Michelle would have graduated from Medina High. ''Then my goal began to grow.
''This program makes kids a lot safer. I'm a one-man army.''
John Higgins can be reached at 330-996-3792 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com.
Motorists could help a Medina County father's quest to use simulators to train teen drivers if the state legislature passes a bill creating a special fundraising license plate.
Ray Sanderbeck, whose 15-year-old daughter, Michelle, was killed in a traffic accident in 2006, has led the effort to improve driver education with the simulators through the Michelle's Leading Star Foundation, named for his daughter.
The machines use computer graphics to simulate increasing levels of driving difficulty in a variety of landscapes and weather conditions. Lessons on driver safety complement practice in the simulators.
Sanderbeck said his goal is ''to bring awareness and, hopefully, bring it into other schools.''
Ohio House Minority Leader William Batchelder, R-Medina, recently introduced House Bill 133 to create the license plate, which would direct a $15 contribution to a fund to buy simulators. Vehicle owners would pay $25 above the cost of a regular plate, with $10 covering administrative costs of issuing the special tag.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety would use the contributions ''solely to fund the rental, lease or purchase of the simulated driving curriculum of the Michelle's Leading Star Foundation by boards of education of city, exempted village, local and joint vocational school districts,'' according to the bill.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles would design the plate, which would include the words ''teen driver education'' and a logo in addition to the usual numbers and letters.
It wouldn't be the first time the Sanderbecks have changed Ohio law.
Michelle Sanderbeck was killed in a one-car accident while riding with three other teenage passengers and a 16-year-old driver who had held his license for only a month. Police determined that speed and the young driver's inexperience led to the crash.
Ray Sanderbeck and his wife, Debbie, inspired changes in Ohio's teen licensing laws, including a restriction that took effect in 2007. It says 16-year-old drivers may have only one nonfamily member as a passenger.
Sanderbeck, who lives in Montville Township, contributed driving simulators in a pilot program he helped teach last year at Medina High School.
The money for the first simulator came through a variety of grants, donations and fundraisers. Sanderbeck said the simulators cost about $10,000 each.
''It's not so much about [teaching basic] driving. I do teach them over 200 defensive driving conditions,'' Sanderbeck said. He volunteers to teach the three-week course six periods a day.
More than 200 students have gone through the Medina program. The course proved so effective in increasing student driving performance, it's now an elective in the school's regular health curriculum.
''My original goal was just to bring it into Medina,'' Sanderbeck said. Michelle would have graduated from Medina High. ''Then my goal began to grow.
''This program makes kids a lot safer. I'm a one-man army.''
John Higgins can be reached at 330-996-3792 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
akron, oh
Posted 09:25 AM, 04/26/2009
Sounds like this is something that should be mandatory training prior to getting a license.
