About Our Driving School

AAA has a rich history in providing top-notch driver education and training. In fact, AAA was the first to develop a driver education curriculum in 1935. More than 85 years later, AAA remains a trusted expert in the field of driver education.

As a leading advocate for traffic safety and mobility, AAA is at the forefront of keeping drivers safe. The AAA name stands for safety, security, and peace-of-mind, which is what we aim to provide families through AAA Driver Education.

Meet Our Instructors

Kellie O'Riordan, CPST-I

Lead Instructor

Kellie is the Traffic Safety Program Manager and lead Driver Education instructor for AAA Ohio Auto Club headquartered in Worthington, Ohio where she works toward helping to reduce the risk of crashes on Ohio's roads. The programs she oversees include driver education for novice and older drivers, pedestrian and bicycle safety campaigns, teen driver safety outreach, and CarFit education. During the past six years, Kellie has spoken to more than 65,000 teens in Ohio about teen driver safety.

She is a Child Passenger Safety Instructor who has worked in an injury prevention capacity since 1999. Prior to her current position with AAA, Kellie worked for 17 years in level 1 pediatric trauma centers in Columbus, Ohio, and Toledo, Ohio as an Injury Prevention and Occupant Protection Specialist.

Kellie is nationally recognized as an expert in the field of occupant protection and has had the pleasure of presenting to child passenger safety advocates, technicians, medical professionals, first responders, and instructors all over the country. She sits on several professional committees and was appointed to the National Child Passenger Safety Board in May 2020.

Todd Scales

Todd resides in Hilliard with his wife, Michelle, and children Aaron and Brooklyn. Todd is a retired Ohio State Highway Patrol sergeant, where he received the highest honor that a Patrol member can receive, the lifesaving O.W. Merrill Award. He is also an Army veteran, where he received the Bronze Star for heroic efforts during Operation Desert Storm. With nearly 30 years of public safety experience, Todd brings a wealth of knowledge to the AAA Driver Education program.

Jason Hofmann

Jason spent four years active duty in the U.S. Air Force, including a tour to Iraq and Kuwait, in support of the Global War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He obtained a bachelor's degree with a major in Criminal Justice before joining the Ohio State Highway Patrol as a State Trooper. He served the state of Ohio for 14 years before his service was ended by a distracted driver striking him as he was investigating a different crash. He has been married for 17 years to his wonderful wife and is a father to 13 year-old twins (boy and girl).

The Curriculum

Using AAA's How to Drive 15th Edition, AAA Driver Education integrates and immerses students into the overall driver education experience. AAA's How to Drive curriculum relies heavily upon scientific reliable data to support concepts, methods, and techniques. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and other sources contribute significantly to our curriculum's subject matter. The result is a novice driver training program designed specifically to address factors in young driver crashes. How to Drive effectively determines crash causes and determines remedies and solutions so that beginning drivers can reduce crash risk to the greatest extent possible.

AAA's How to Drive content also meets or exceeds the National Driver Education Standards for content and delivery. It's the ONLY available curriculum officially endorsed by the American Driver & Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA).

In-Car Driving Lessons

Not only does AAA Driver Education provide high-quality content, but we also ensure our behind-the-wheel driving routes are vetted and designed specifically to progressively become more challenging as students progress. Our licensed driving instructors will spend time with families after each drive discussing the student's progress and providing key takeaways to work on during supervised driving hours.

Added Protection

As a member-centric organization, AAA will also provide new teen drivers a FREE teen AAA membership just for attending AAA Driver Education*. This will give families additional safety, security, and peace of mind as the student obtains a driver's license. It will also open doors to a wide range of AAA member benefits and discounts on auto repair, travel, insurance, and more.

*Valid on associate memberships in AAA Ohio Auto Club territory. Parent/guardian must be an existing AAA member to redeem. Students must reside in the household of their parent/guardian. Valid for one associate AAA membership per household.