Timpson HS Wins Teens in the Driver Seat® Cup


The Teens in the Driver Seat Cup was presented to Timpson FCCLA students during the awards program by Sandy Wheeler and Zac Gomez with State Farm Insurance.

May 1, 2018 - Student leaders from Timpson High School were recognized on Thursday, May 3, 2018, during the awards program by Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS), State Farm, and the Texas Department of Transportation for their achievements in the annual TDS Cup Competition. TDS rewards teams with points for active participation in the program throughout the 2017-2018 school year. This is the 5th year that Timpson High School has participated in the program. They won 2nd place for 4 years and won first place in 1A/2A division this year, competing with schools across the state for the TDS cup and winning $1,000 for their program.


In State Farm red shirts, Sandy Wheeler (left) and Zac Gomez (right) present the awards to TDS sponsor Danielle Smith with the bronze star award.

The Teens in the Driver Seat Cup competition is made possible by support from State Farm. The Cup encourages students to be active throughout the year, rewarding them points for every safe driving activity reported. The contest is highly competitive and taking first place is no easy feat. Activities include; outreach on campus, activity online via social media, participating in Zero Crazy –a pre- and post-observation activity near campus with educational messaging in-between to change seat belt and cell phone use behavior–and conducting school-wide knowledge surveys of self-reported teen driver and passenger behaviors.

In addition, the TDS Sponsor at Timpson High School, Danielle Smith will be awarded the Sponstar Award which is given to sponsors who go above and beyond to help their students address teen traffic safety issues on their campus. Their work is an invaluable tool in helping to stop the leading cause of death for teens –car crashes.

“Teens in the Driver Seat believes that young drivers are more effective at communicating safe driving practices to their peers than anyone else,” said TDS Director Russell Henk. “This contest gives teens a creative way to engage their peers in a positive way.”