Taking The Lead: Ford Driving Skills For Life
Taking the Lead: Ford Driving Skills for Life is a comprehensive community initiative that features an exciting, free interactive website DrivingSkillsForLife.com that teens can use to practice for their permit test, or just get better behind the wheel. Plus, we offer a FREE high school assembly program to area schools every month; you just need to register your school! Ford Driving Skills for Life is a global teen driving initiative with hands-on events and education to provide newly licensed, inexperienced, teenage drivers with skills to improve their driving and make good decisions behind the wheel.
The Governors Highway Safety Association, in partnership with Ford Motor Company Fund, released a new report that examines the significant role that speeding plays in teen driver fatalities and offers practical tools to help parents rein in this deadly driving habit. The report, Teens and Speeding: Breaking the Deadly Cycle, incorporates recently released data and includes state-by-state statistics to provide a first look at how teens factor into the worrying trend of increased speeding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full report HERE!
#SlowDownTeens
Speeding by the numbers:
???? 15,510 teen drivers in fatal motor vehicle crashes (2015-2019)
???? 5,202 of those crashes – more than a third – involved speeding
Teen drivers account for a higher share of speeding-related fatal car crashes (43%) than drivers 20 and older (30%).
We might get wiser with age, but far too many teens are forgetting a basic driving safety lesson as they get older: #BuckleUp.
The risk of a teen driver getting into a fatal crash rises exponentially for each additional peer in the vehicle.
ALERT: Sign your school up today! Assembly is offered via school assembly or virtual each month.
COME SEE US AT THE PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW FROM 2/17 TO 2/20. We'll have demonstrations and opportunity to speak with Pennsylvania State Troopers, meet a Police K-9 and KDKA-TV personalities!
We'll be located on the 2nd floor next to the escalators and elevator. Hope to see you there!
STUDENTS: Click here for FREE, interactive learning modules to help you practice for your permit and driver's license tests! Sign up for DrivingSkillsForLife.com/ACADEMY: Challenge yourself to become a better driver! Online games and videos are designed to help you manage distractions, learn what to do in hazardous situations or if you lose control of your vehicle and so much more! Best of all… it's FREE!
SAFE DRIVING HABITS FOR WINTER WEATHER:
Hazards exist each season throughout the year!
Things to keep in mind when driving during the winter:
- When a driver knows what to do in an emergency, they are more likely to be in control on the roads. ALWAYS BUCKLE UP. It's the Law!
- Check your tire pressure (including the spare) - Tires lose 1 to 2 pounds of pressure for every 10-degree temperature drop
- Check tread depth at least once a month – especially important in slippery conditions if your tires are bald
- How to use the quarter test: Hold the quarter (head down) and stick it in the tire tread groove. Ideally part of Washington's head will be covered.
- If Washington's entire head is showing, it may be time to start thinking about a new set of tires. Usually, a good tire will last 3½ years.
- Remember that it is more difficult to see people, objects & street signs in the dark. A waterlogged reflection can increase the likelihood of a crash.
- Adjust your headlights. If your headlights seem too dim, ask your mechanic to make sure they are aligned properly.
- Stick with low beams: Keep your headlights on low when driving in the fog (and snow). High beams will only cause glare.
- Watch for ice, road salt, leaves, rocks or other debris coming off hillsides
- Know the LAW! No texting while driving AND Junior license drivers have time and passenger restrictions! http://www.education4drivers.com/pennsylvania/drivers-license-restrictions.htm
- Replace your windshield wipers regularly.
- Proceed with caution. Watch for deer, sudden stops by other vehicles, buses, potholes and challenging weather conditions.
It is wise for teens to know the precautions that should be taken before driving in unfamiliar weather & should practice driving with a licensed driver in all types of inclement weather before attempting on their own. An empty parking lot is a great place to practice.
Source: Cindy Cohen School of Driving
References
AAA. (2019). Wet Weather Driving Tips. AAA Exchange -> Driving Advice, 9-14.
PennDOT. (2017). PA Driver's Manuel. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation PUB 95 (4-16) English Version .
PARENTS: Encourage your teen (and their friends) to log on today! Gain more confidence in your own teenager's driving skills AND knowing that their friends have a better understanding behind the wheel because they went through the Academy! It's Free and is just a little time that's worth their life!
https://www.alleghenycourts.us/Home/Default.aspx
REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL HERE!
TAKING THE LEAD: FORD DRIVING SKILLS FOR LIFE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY:
MANY LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE INVITED US TO BRING THIS ASSEMBLY PROGRAM TO THEIR SCHOOL
Your school could be next! Use the form above to let us know today! It's free! It's confidential!
KDKA-TV, Neighborhood Ford Store, Governors Highway Safety Association and Allegheny County Pretrial Services are Taking the Lead to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities related to teen driving in our community. We are dedicated to saving lives. Learn as much as you can... It's FUN, INFORMATIVE and FREE!
For immediate information, please contact Laura Stephen at: Stephen@kdka.com
