Junior Jessica Veihman won third place in the Allegheny County Teen Safe Driving Competition at Pittsburgh Technical Institute held on Monday, April 11. The competition, where teams of three from ten different schools are tested for their driving safety knowledge and skills, is held annually.

According to Veihman, Officer Modrak arranged for the team to participate while a friend’s father of Veihman’s organized the team.

The three parts of the competition, the written, perceptual, and driving tests, were evaluated and assigned points. The person who had the most points won.

The written test tested driving skill and emergency procedures, the perceptual test tested how perceptive contestants were about their surroundings, and the driving test assessed drivers’ awareness of the edge of the vehicle.

Veihman said: “The perceptual test was the most difficult. An image of an intersection of roadway was shown on the screen for ten seconds. Then specific questions were asked about the image to assess your awareness of your surroundings. For example, one of the questions asked if your headlights were turned on. Another asked what mile marker you were at on I-79.”

First place prize was $1,000, second place prize was $500, and third place prize was $250. First and second place advance to the state competition in Harrisburg.