SPRINGFIELD — State leaders are working on ways to help Springfield and the growing Haitian immigrant population, including tackling issues with inexperienced drivers.
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“There’s a lot of people that don’t know how to drive,” Mike Moyer, of Springfield, said.
Moyer had his car totaled last year when he was hit head-on by a woman who did not have a license.
“She was a U.S. citizen, so it don’t matter if you’re a foreigner or an actual person from the U.S.,” Moyer said. “There’s people out here that need to know how to drive.”
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, data shows that there have been more than 1,300 crashes in Springfield this year.
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It’s an issue that’s come to the forefront as Springfield works to adjust to its growing population of Haitian immigrants.
“We have some really serious concerns about driving,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said.
DeWine has expressed his concerns with Haitian immigrants adjusting to American driving.
“There’s clearly some erratic driving that is going on beyond the norm that we expect to see. That should not surprise us. Many of these drivers probably never drove in Haiti,” DeWine said.
Ohio’s director of the Department of Public Safety has been looking into ways to address the problem. Their focus is education and have developed an adult Haitian Creole driving class.
“Now we need to find leaders within the adult Haitian community to get people to come to those classes,” Andy Wilson, Department of Public Safety Director, said.
Wilson met with business leaders in Springfield that employ the Haitian community. One idea has been setting up a driving mentorship program.
“We know the best way to teach somebody to drive or keep somebody safe behind the wheel, is to give them time driving that vehicle with somebody who knows how to drive with an instructor,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the classes could roll out as soon as next month.
Another issue DeWine said this highlights is the process for any Ohioan getting a driver’s license.
“We say when someone is 18 years of age, they do not have to have any driver’s education. So what we’re seeing from our BMV is we’re having someone fail the test and then they just keep coming back,” DeWine said. “They come back day after day after day and finally they pass the test. It doesn’t mean they are a better driver.”
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