Michelin North America Inc. and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) personnel said the entities have partnered to enhance teen driver safety initiatives.
Recent results of a survey conducted by Michelin and the GHSA showed 62 percent of parents said their child had experienced a COVID-19 related disruption in driver education /licensing, but 35 percent don’t have a backup plan for replacing lost learning.
“Michelin is committed to helping parents and teens prepare for the road in the safest way possible,” Joanie Martin, chief administrative officer for Michelin North America, Inc., said. “Teaching a teen to drive is a key experience for almost every parent, so when we learned parents were facing added pressure due to the pandemic, we took action to help them fill the gap.”
To help address the instructional void, officials said Michelin and GHSA are offering varied guidance, including hand placement of 10 and 2 being replaced with 9 and 3 because of the airbag in the steering wheel; encouraging parents to gain familiarity with Graduated Driver Licensing requirements in their respective states; and introducing technology addressing distracted driving by enabling real-time sharing all day, requiring parents and teens to be extra diligent to remain focused on the road and not screens.
“Parents are their teens’ No. 1 driving teacher and coach, but they often don’t recognize this or seek additional support,” Pam Shadel Fischer, teen driving safety expert with GHSA, said. “As a parent, it’s important to ensure your teen is driving a safe vehicle, that you are knowledgeable about the rules of the road and that you seek out resources to help you help your teen driver build skills. This is critical as technology, licensing, and driving laws and best practices continue to evolve.”