District News

ThinkFast Interactive lived up to its name when the experience came to Bernards High School on February 4, 2025. As the culmination of their BHS Auto Safety requirement, the entire sophomore class took part in the fun, fast-paced teen driver safety program.

To kick it off, students paired up into teams, brainstormed a name, and selected a captain. Using a handheld remote, the goal was to earn points for their team by buzzing in with correct answers to multiple-choice and true/false questions about safe driving. In addition, the ThinkFast Interactive program utilized the following engaging ways to educate participants. "Did you know" information slides were integrated throughout the presentation, displaying a multitude of facts and stats about highway safety knowledge. These slides were designed to help students recall critical information as well as rules, regulations, and penalties specific to New Jersey. A "perception of social norms" activity incorporated interactive audience response questions. First, teams were asked a question about safety awareness, and then they had to guess how the majority answered it. This was eye-opening for students to compare what they personally do, to what everybody may or may not be doing.

Another component was a "20-second challenge" role-playing activity where students had to convince their peers to be safe drivers. Alex Fraunfelder and Jordan Riley boldly took on that challenge. Peppered into the driver safety review questions were pop culture questions and a dance break contest that had Ellie Hill, Brendan Sharkey, and Nate DeNicola, up and on their feet dancing!

Goals, Campers, and Ozone were three teams vying for first place until the halfway mark,  when Team Gophers and Team Star took the lead. However, during a Big Bid Wager round, teams could each bet big on the final questions. This catapulted Team Comet, with a score of 78,970 points, and Team Sonics, with a score of 78,876 points, into the Championship round along with the two challenge winners.

Driver safety, especially among teens, is crucial; 56% of teen deaths from car accidents were from cars driven by teens. Another staggering statistic is that 94% of crashes are due to human behavior. And every 39 minutes, someone is killed by a drunk driver. Every thirty-nine minutes. ThinkFast Interactive covered seatbelt safety, impaired driving, effects of alcohol and lack of sleep, inattentional blindness, speeding, texting, reaction time, and so much more.

"The ThinkFast Interactive Teen Driver Safety Presentation is a tremendous program that BHS was fortunate to host again this year. Our young future drivers were captivated by the engaging, game-style presentation and learned important safety tips that will make them better drivers," said Principal Scott Neigel. "We are very grateful for the support of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, as well as the efforts of Dan Spautz and Leslie O'Connor, in making this program a resounding success."