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DC DMV Announces New Safe Driving Campaign to Prevent Teenage Motor Vehicle Accidents and Deaths

Tuesday, June 24, 2014
DC DMV, Ford Motor Company and State Farm® Launch the Parent’s Supervised Driving Program to Prevent One of the Major Causes of Injuries and Deaths for Teens

(Washington, D.C.) – The District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles (DC DMV) announced the launch of The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program, an innovative new program sponsored by Ford Motor Company and State Farm that is designed to prevent one of the major causes of death and injury for teens on the road. Utilizing the sponsorship funds committed by Ford Motor Company and State Farm, the curriculum provides parents and guardians with a simple, easy to follow plan designed to help teens become safe and responsible drivers. This free tool optimizes the 50 hours of parental supervised driving required for the approximately 5,000 District of Columbia teens seeking learner’s permits each year. The guide is packed with information and lessons on driving basics, parental pointers, licensing qualifications, and even a Parent/Teen Agreement. The Program is supplemented by the RoadReady mobile app developed to easily and accurately track the required supervised driving time. 

“When teenagers and their parents receive driver education, the roads become safer for all,” said Mayor Vincent C. Gray. “Therefore, we welcome this public-private partnership provided at no-cost to families, taxpayers, and the District government to help young people become smart and responsible drivers.”

 “We are pleased to be part of an important collaborative effort that provides parents and guardians with a resource to help teens develop the habits and skills necessary for them to become safe and responsible drivers,” stated Lucinda Babers, Director of DC DMV.  Babers continued, “The lessons learned during this supervision period will give teens the foundation they need to become safe drivers, and the experience is something parents and teens will share for years to come.”

Through a public-private effort supported by Ford Motor Company and State Farm, DC DMV is able to provide this valuable resource to parents of teen drivers at no cost to families or to taxpayers.

The sponsorship allows DC DMV to address a critical need and provide parents with a resource geared toward skill development and expanding the conditions and time that teens drive with their parents prior to driving independently.

Steve Kenner, Global Director of Ford’s Automotive Safety Office stated, “The skills outlined in this guide are meant to help teens learn to be better drivers. It is one of the ways Ford works to help teens.” Kenner continued, “In addition to this program, Ford also offers Driving Skills for Life, which gives teens advanced real world training. Ford also offers MyKey technology, which gives parents options to help encourage safe driving behaviors even when the parents aren’t in the car.”

 “Getting a driver’s license is such a special moment in a teen’s life, but it often causes increased anxiety for parents. Research tells us the single most important thing parents can do to help their teens stay safe on the road is to allow as much supervised practice behind the wheel as possible. Driving with a parent builds a new driver’s confidence and we hope this new resource will help parents and teens make the most of this time together,” said Tim Van Hoof, Assistant Vice President at State Farm.

The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program focuses on the role of the parent in the teen driver education process and encourages parents and teens to drive together in a variety of weather conditions and unfamiliar settings, city and heavy traffic routes, and also various times of day. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm study, Driving Through the Eyes of Teens, teen drivers whose parents are highly involved in the teen driver education process were half as likely to get in a car crash, 71 percent less likely to drive intoxicated, 30 percent less likely to use a cell phone while driving, and twice as likely to wear seatbelts. 

A 2010 U.S News & World Report ranking of the Best States for Teen Drivers ranked the District of Columbia as the safest place in nation for teens to drive, due in part to having some of the most rigorous laws in the country governing driver license requirements for teens. The program offers an enhanced supervised driving experience and even encourages parents and guardians to extend the supervised driving period beyond the District’s requirements

The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program is available to parents and guardians of teens on multiple platforms, beginning with the printed curriculum that is distributed at DC DMV Service Centers when the teen receives his or her learner’s permit. Parents and teens are also invited to connect with the program online and through social media as well as on a mobile app that helps parents and teens track their drive times and become RoadReady.

For media resources on the program, visit www.theparentssuperviseddrivingprogram.com.

About Ford Motor Company:

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 183,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding the company and Ford products, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

About State Farm Insurance:

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their nearly 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 41 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.

About Safe Roads Alliance:

Safe Roads Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving highway safety by improving driver education with particular emphasis on behind-the-wheel training.

 

The District Department of Motor Vehicles promotes public safety to ensure the safe operation of motor vehicles. For more information, visit dmv.dc.gov. Like DC DMV on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.