Toyota Takes On Safe Driving Skills With Teens And Parents

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A little time with their parents can help open up new independence for Michigan teens. Toyota will host its free TeenDrive365 teen driver experience on Oct. 4 and 5 at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor (4800 E Huron River Drive) to help new drivers and their parents build safer habits behind the wheel. This is the second time Toyota has brought the program to Michigan.

At the innovative, two-and-a-half-hour events, teens and their parents spend time inside cars and the classroom to learn defensive driving skills, crash avoidance techniques and the dangers of distracted driving. The program is open to new drivers with a valid driver's license. Registration is required and open now at events.teendrive365.com.

"Learning to drive brings new independence, excitement and responsibility for teens and their families," said Michael Rouse, Toyota's vice president of diversity, philanthropy and community affairs. "Toyota's program takes the extra steps to combine parent participation, behind-the-wheel experiences and classroom time to help prepare teens and parents for the road ahead."

Michigan requires supervised driving with a parent or guardian ahead of a full license and puts additional restrictions on its newest drivers. TeenDrive365 supplements those rules to look at distractions and defensive driving techniques. According to the Michigan State Secretary of State office, one out of every five licensed 16-year-olds will be in a vehicle crash.

Recognizing that parents play a crucial role in developing habits of their teens behind the wheel, Toyota's program uniquely requires a parent or guardian to actively participate in the event with the teen. Parents and teens will make mutual driving agreements and learn communication tips to continue at-home learning.

Toyota's national study with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) further supports the premise that parents can be influential role models for young drivers, finding a significant correlation between parent and teen behaviors behind the wheel. The UMTRI/Toyota Teen Driver Distraction Study was sponsored by Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center which works with leading North American Universities, hospitals, research institutions and agencies on research designed to better understand teen drivers' risks and behaviors and identify effective recommendations to help keep them safe.

For more than a decade Toyota has provided teen driver safety resources to help drivers conquer the road safely. TeenDrive365.com offers free online teen safety resources to parents, teens, educators and schools.

ABOUT TOYOTA
Toyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants and directly employ more than 40,000 people.  Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today. 

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to nonprofits in the U.S.  For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com/usa.

Media Contact:

Catie Axup Stoneberg
Golin for Toyota
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213.471.0316

SOURCE Toyota