American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators Partners with MyCarDoesWhat on Driver Safety Education Initiatives

ITASCA, Ill., March 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the National Safety Council and the University of Iowa – creators of the MyCarDoesWhat campaign – announced a partnership with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to increase awareness of new vehicle safety features that can help prevent crashes and reduce deaths and injuries.

Research[i] shows that most consumers are unsure about how potentially life-saving vehicle safety features work. The MyCarDoesWhat campaign is designed to educate consumers about how to best interact with these safety features to promote safer driving experiences.

AAMVA represents state, provincial and territorial officials in the United States and Canada – including leaders of departments of motor vehicles (DMV) – charged with developing model programs in motor vehicle administration, law enforcement, and highway safety. The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) will be the first to launch the MyCarDoesWhat campaign by providing tools to consumers online and in driver services offices throughout the state.

"Our vehicles have technologies that may be capable of saving our lives, but we need to help drivers understand how to use them," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "We are excited to partner with AAMVA because we will have an opportunity to reach drivers before they are even licensed – while they're at their state's DMV."

The MyCarDoesWhat campaign will share multimedia educational resources include public service announcements, videos, graphics, brochures, fact sheets, a new game app and a social media platform. Ultimately, driver services employees may also be trained to better understand the technologies and tools available so they can provide guidance and assistance to drivers.

"The MyCarDoesWhat campaign provides valuable and easily accessible information to provide drivers with the knowledge about safety features in the cars they drive.  Building partnerships with AAMVA members throughout the United States and Canada will help get this information directly into the hands of drivers," said Anne Ferro, president and CEO of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. "This effort fits perfectly with our members' critical role in making our roads safer."

"Incorporating MyCarDoesWhat into our driver services offices provides the perfect context for learning about these safety technologies," said Mark Lowe, director of the Motor Vehicle Division at the Iowa Department of Transportation.

"These advanced technologies are rapidly becoming a part of cars on our roadways. Some technologies like anti-lock braking system have been around for years, yet our research shows there are still knowledge gaps in the understanding of these technologies," said Daniel McGehee, director of the Transportation and Vehicle Safety Program at the University of Iowa. "As these technologies continue to be infiltrate the automotive market, we want to make sure consumers know how use them, so their safety benefit can be fully realized on the road."

For more information visit MyCarDoesWhat.org and follow MyCarDoesWhat on Twitter and Facebook.

About the National Safety Council
Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council, nsc.org, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact – distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety, prescription drug overdoses and Safe Communities.

About the University of Iowa
The Transportation & Vehicle Safety Research Program at the University of Iowa works to improve technology design through a better understanding of how drivers perform and behave in crash situations. Their research-driven program works at the intersection of safety technology and public policy. The program's areas of research include: human factors and human behavior, advanced in-vehicle safety technologies, driver distraction, teen driving, crash analysis and automated vehicle policy.

About the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
Founded in 1933, AAMVA serves North American motor vehicle and law enforcement agencies to accomplish their missions. The association's vision-Safe Drivers, Safe Vehicles, Secure Identities, Saving Lives-guides AAMVA's activities, resources, and programs in driver licensing, vehicle titling/registration, motor carrier services, identity management, and technology solutions. For more information, visit www.aamva.org

[i] Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

SOURCE MyCarDoesWhat

Related Links

https://mycardoeswhat.org/