Celebrate My Drive® Tackles The Number One Killer Of Teens

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Community members throughout the U.S. and Canada joined high school students, teachers and administrators in committing to safe driving during National Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct. 20-26). As part of Celebrate My Drive®, more than 6,000,000 safe driving commitments were made.

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Celebrate My Drive encourages young drivers to think 2N2™: 2 eyes on the road and 2 hands on the wheel.  For every commitment made, participants answered two safe driving trivia questions before committing to drive safely. It was a strategy designed to emphasize positive practices.

"The number of teens dying and being injured on our roads is a public health crisis," said David Beigie, Vice President of Public Affairs at State Farm. "We believe 6,000,000+ commitments to safe driving is a huge step to creating safer roadways for all drivers."

In addition to the 6,000,000+ safe driving commitments, State Farm agents participated in more than 800 teen driving safety events, sparking countless additional conversations meant to inspire drivers—younger and older—to make safe driving choices behind the wheel. The community celebrations focused on safe driving habits, emphasizing the benefits of safe choices as teens celebrate the freedom that comes with getting a drivers' license. One school administrator thanked Celebrate My Drive® for improving her driving:  "Committing to be a safe driver everyday has really made me pay more attention to my driving habits…I'm one person who really noticed a difference in my own driving," she said.

The Celebrate My Drive Facebook page served as an exciting epicenter of activity during the safe driving commitment phase of the program. People engaged with the content on the page more than 56,000 times, reaching more than 2.1 million people online and increasing the number of positive teen driver safety conversations taking place in North America.

Across the U.S. and Canada, local communities rallied to support teen driving safety, including:

• Ironwood High School in Glendale, AZ worked with local agent Duvel Pierre to host a multi-faceted celebration to drive commitments. Videos were created by the cheerleaders and the choir encouraging students to avoid distractions while driving and commit to safe driving. The local police department held safety demonstrations at the school during National Teen Driver Safety Week.  "I've known too many teens whose lives were cut short as a result of auto crashes. I'm thrilled to work with Ironwood High School as they celebrate safe driving," said State Farm Agent Duvel Pierre.
• Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland rallied his Twitter followers to support his alma mater, Newark (OH) High School.  Charles "Peanut" Tillman, cornerback for the Chicago Bears and a frequent advocate for numerous charitable functions, retweeted in support of Eureka (IL) High School. 
• Clearwater, FL Mayor George Cretekos spoke to Clearwater Central Catholic High School students at one community event. "While today's program at CCC and other schools in the area were aimed at students, the warnings of 'do not drink and drive' and 'do not text and drive' apply to everyone."
• NY State Senator Kathleen A. Marchioine (R) used an e-mail blast to encourage her constituents to support local high schools by committing to stay safe on the road.  Mayor Rob Ford, on behalf of Toronto City Council, proclaimed October 20 - 26, 2013 as "National Teen Driver Safety Week" in Toronto.

For their commitment to save driving, two high schools will receive the opportunity to have Kelly Clarkson perform at their school next spring. Additionally $3.25 million in grants will be awarded to high schools across the US and Canada. Ten schools will have the opportunity to win $100,000 grants with an additional 90 schools having the opportunity to win $25,000 grants. For each grant awarded, a minimum of 10% of the prize value must be used toward teen driver safety initiatives.  Winners will be announced publicly in December, 2013. 

"Getting a driver's license is one of life's most exciting moments," said Leif Roll, Marketing Vice President at State Farm Insurance®. "We are thrilled so many people took time to think about driving more safely." 

About Celebrate My Drive:
Celebrate My Drive® is a different approach to a leading public health risk.  Car crashes are the number one killer of teens, and a teen's first year on the road is the most dangerous. Using research as a guide, State Farm is approaching teen driver safety, a winnable public health battle, by engaging teens while they learn to drive in a supportive and positive way.  It's a community celebration of safe driving habits emphasizing the benefits of safe choices as teens celebrate the freedom that comes with getting a drivers' license. Learn more about the initiative at www.celebratemydrive.com.

About State Farm:
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 17,800 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. 44 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 Kelly Clarkson:
Since bursting onto the music scene 10 years ago, Kelly Clarkson has released 5 studio albums (Thankful, Breakaway, My December, All I Ever Wanted, Stronger), 1 Greatest Hits album, sold over 20 million albums worldwide, 10 million albums in the US and has had 10 singles in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. She is the recipient of 3 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 2 Academy of Country Music Awards, 1 Country Music Association Award and 12 Billboard Music Awards. Clarkson's last studio effort Stronger debuted at #2 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Digital Albums Chart. The album produced the smash singles, "Mr. Know It All" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" which marks Kelly's 9th and 10th Top 10 hit. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" was #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart for two consecutive weeks (3 weeks total) marking her 3rd #1 on the Hot 100 chart.  Clarkson's Stronger was certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A. and won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. Clarkson released Greatest Hits – Chapter 1 last year which featured 3 brand new tracks as well as a compilation of some of her greatest hits to date.  Kelly spent the summer touring with Maroon 5 and recording her very first Christmas album Wrapped In Red, which is set for release on October 29th.

SOURCE State Farm