Ford Driving Skills for Life launches its 13th global tour with the addition of a new Drugged Driving Suit for its U.S. curriculum that’s designed to stress the dangers of driving while impaired. The program expands this year as Driving Skills for Life takes its training across the United States and travels to six additional countries worldwide.
The 2016 program also provides experiences with a Drunk Driving Suit, which debuted in 2013. Students attending ride-and-drive events will wear both suits to gain perspective on how being impaired can slow movement, reduce coordination, blur vision and make tasks difficult. They’ll also learn the importance of safety belt use and pedestrian safety, and about the risks of drowsy driving.
“Our 2016 program features some of the newest and most innovative tools available to teach new drivers to be safe and make sound decisions behind the wheel,” said Jim Graham, manager, Ford Driving Skills for Life. “Our new Drugged Driving Suit is intended to complement our Drunk Driving Suit, giving students a critical eye into the consequences of impaired driving.”
Driving Skills for Life takes its training to 15 stops in the United States this year, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas, as well as other states.
Drugged Driving Suit © Ford Motor Company
The safe driving message also expands globally as the tour travels to Argentina, Bahrain, Finland, Oman, Poland and South Korea. To date, Driving Skills for Life has reached 800,000 new drivers of all ages with free ride-and-drive courses, school and community events, and its interactive website. By the end of 2016, the program will have reached 1 million people in 35 countries.
“Despite progress in recent years, teens continue to be overrepresented in motor vehicle crashes and fatalities across the country,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director, Governors Highway Safety Association. “For this reason, the association and the State Highway Safety Offices are looking forward to bringing this powerful program to even more teens and their parents – coast to coast and around the globe.”
Ford Driving Skills for Life global milestones
Ford Driving Skills for Life was established in 2003 by Ford Motor Company Fund, Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts with the mission of teaching newly licensed drivers the necessary skills for safer driving and the importance of making good decisions behind the wheel.
Through free, hands-on ride-and-drive courses, classroom material and an interactive website, the core curriculum focuses on vehicle handling, hazard recognition, speed management and space management, which account for 60 percent of all crashes.
In its first 12 years, Ford Driving Skills for Life provided hands-on training to more than 41,000 teens in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
“Ford Driving Skills for Life has grown in both content and reach since it launched 13 years ago,” said Graham. “We focus on parental behavior, because research shows it has an impact on teen driving behavior. And we continue to modify the program to keep up with an ever-evolving world newly licensed drivers must face.”
