Driving Skills For Life

Driving Skills for Life TEEN TRAGEDIES • Vehicle crashes are the number one killer of American teenagers, claiming nearly 6,000 lives each year • Crash rates are highest during a teen’s first few hundred miles on the road • To combat these alarming statistics, Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) focuses on key skills for safe driving

HIGHLIGHTS • DSFL is a national safety initiative created in 2003 by Ford Motor Company, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and a panel of safety experts • Ford translated extensive teen driving research from its advanced driving simulator into the program • DSFL teaches safe-driving skills in the four key areas – hazard recognition, vehicle handling, space management and speed management – that could help prevent up to 60 percent of teen accidents

HOW IT WORKS • DSFL combines learning materials for driving instructors, on-line resources and hands-on training using: – Customized in-school and community programs – Hands-on training events held at various locations across the country – Free educator kit featuring with an in-depth video outlining training tips • The four key safe-driving skills are: – Hazard Recognition: How to scan for trouble approaching intersections and safety zones – Vehicle Handling: Adjusting to a vehicle’s size and weight. Emergency braking techniques, and how acceleration, braking and turns affect vehicle balance – Space Management: Learning how to adjust speed to maintain space around, ahead and behind a vehicle. How to avoid being rear-ended – Speed Management: How to stay in contact with the road. Recovering from skids in frontand rear-wheel drive vehicles

WEBSITE HELPS STUDENTS LEARN MORE DSFL’s website – www.drivingskillsforlife.com – helps students, parents and educators learn more about safe driving and obtain materials such as an educator’s guide to take students through the program. The Web site provides: • On-line learning module and quiz • Safe driving games • Tips on driving safety, eco-driving and car maintenance • Best Practice Guide that outlines DSFL’s most successful programs and describes how to implement those programs in your school or community

4/2009

for more information, go to WWW.media.ford.com

Driving Skills for Life KATE VOEGELE TUNES UP TEEN SAFETY MESSAGE WHILE SINGING TO STARDOM

FORCE WINS ON TRACK, TALKS SAFETY ONLINE • Ashley Force, NHRA Ford Mustang Funny Car driver, talks about why the Ford Driving Skills for Life program is so important for teens: https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/ index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=41& task=videodirectlink&id=30

• Kate Voegele, a recording artist and guest star of TV’s “One Tree Hill,” promotes teen safe driving and Ford Motor Company Fund’s Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program in multimedia public service announcements • This partnership is part of DSFL’s broader strategy of engaging teens to promote safe driving with other young drivers because they’re more effective than adults • Teen drivers can view the PSA here: https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&Ite mid=41&task=videodirectlink&id=29

students driving home safety in psas • High School students across Nashville created PSAs about safe driving with the goal of reducing dangerous conditions that lead to teen driving accidents • Ford also showcased the work of students at three Dearborn, Mich. high schools on YouTube • In both cities, Ford Motor Company Fund’s Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) program gave students at participating high schools small budgets to create safe driving campaigns targeted at their classmates using public service announcements, posters and school assemblies • PSA’s can be viewed at: – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjoobGZtV1c – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aATkMW3kfKI&feature=related – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvOSZVdaJIo

4/2009

for more information, go to WWW.media.ford.com