Personal Injury Law

Ford program aims to reduce risk of Chicago car accidents involving teenagers

By Kris Briggs

Some schools that don't have the funding to offer driver education courses still have an opportunity to drive the point home to teens that get behind the wheel and drive distracted.

Ford Motor Company and Governors Highway Safety Association is providing the Ford Driving Skills for Life Program to 30 high schools in 15 states to teach teens about the dangers of driving distracted and driving under the influence according to a recent article in USA Today.

Our Chicago personal injury lawyers applaud the efforts made by Ford Motor Co. Distracted driving is a common cause when young drivers are involved in Chicago car accidents.

Last month we posted on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyer Blog that 16% of fatal crashes in 2009 involved a distraction-related cause. We also reported that the under-20 age group had the highest involvement in distracted driving fatal crashes, which was approximately 16% in 2009. Teens all over the country are being encouraged to participate in contests like the JST DRV radio public service announcement competition to bring awareness about the dangers of distracted driving to their age group.

Ford Motor Co. also accepts that challenge with the Ford Driving Skills for Life Program, which is a one day, three-course driver program; the company pays about $35,000 in costs for each clinic. The program is meant to give teens a hands-on experience with distracted driving situations as well as other common threats faced when driving. Participants are put in simulated experiences that teach them what it is like to drive while over the legal limit, drive in icy or treacherous road conditions, and drive with in-vehicle distractions causing them to lose their focus.

The one-day clinic evolved from a Ford program already established in Tazewell County, IL where 15 teens were killed in a 15-month period as a result of motor vehicle crashes. Ford designed a teen-driving-safety program that cut the death totals to zero for four consecutive years in the county's 7 schools. The program eventually expanded to include 100 schools statewide and has helped to cut young driver deaths in Illinois by 50%.

One difference in the Ford Driving Skills for Life Program, compared to other programs being offered, is the real life experience that teens are put in. An example is the drunken-driving course which places teens in a Ford Fusion. The teens drive sober around the course with orange cones; then are asked to put on Innocorp Fatal Vision goggles that simulate the driver driving with a blood alcohol content of .08. Teens experience first-hand the difference between driving sober and driving over the legal limit.

As an added incentive for teens to participate, Ford is sponsoring a songwriting contest. The Belt it Out contest requires teens to compose and record a song about distracted driving dangers. The winner will be awarded a $5,000 grand prize for the best composition.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Law Blog on March 05, 2011 (boomark / email).