TEENS “BELT IT OUT” WITH FORD DRIVING SKILLS FOR LIFE TO SING FOR SAFETY
- Teenagers across the country are using original music to address the number one killer of their generation: vehicle crashes.
- Ford Driving Skills for Life – an award winning driver’s education program – is offering thousands of dollars in scholarships to teens whose original music effectively communicates about this issue.
- Members of the public can help pick the winners by voting for their favorite songs among the ten finalists posted on www.drivingskillsforlife.com through April 30.
DEARBORN, Mich., April 7, 2010 – Teens across the country are using their creative talents to write and record music with an important message: what can we do about the leading cause of death in our generation?
More than 6,000 young lives are lost on American roads each year. Ford Driving Skills for Life, an award winning driver’s education program developed by Ford Motor Company Fund and the Governors Highway Safety Association, created a "Belt it Out: Sing for Safety" safe driving campaign to encourage teens to compose songs with safe driving messages. Winners will receive up to $5,000 each.
Ford Driving Skills for Life emphasizes four key skill areas: speed management, space management, vehicle handling and hazard recognition. Experts have identified the lack of these skills to be the cause of approximately 60 percent of vehicle crashes for newly licensed drivers ages 16-19. Ford Driving Skills for Life has reached hundreds of thousands of teens online through interactive training and thousands more in hands-on driving events around the country.
Entries from the ten finalists are posted on www.drivingskillsforlife.com. Members of the public can help select the winners by voting online for their favorite songs.
The finalists are from high schools in Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee; four are solo artists and the rest are comprised of bands with 4 or 5 students.
The top five vote getters will advance to the final round of the competition on May 1. Kate Voegele, Ford Driving Skills for Life spokesperson and popular singer, songwriter and actress, will select the top three winners. An announcement of the winners will be made June 1.
"As a father of a young adult, I know first-hand a parent’s worry when new drivers take to the road," said Jim Graham, Manager, Ford Driving Skills for Life. "It is gratifying to see teenagers excited about learning and sharing safe driving messages and to hear the heartfelt thanks of parents."
Ford Driving Skills for Life was created in 2003 in partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association. It is one of the nation’s most comprehensive teen driver safety programs. In addition to hands-on events, it offers learning tools such as an interactive Web site (www.drivingskillsforlife.com) with learning modules, quizzes, car care and driving tip videos and games. Free educator packets are available for students, parents, educators and community organizations. Tailored programs can be created to meet the specific needs of communities and schools
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Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works to strengthen families and communities through programs that foster safe driving, innovative education and American heritage. Made possible by funding from Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Company Fund celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2009. National programs include Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, which provides high school students with academically rigorous, real world learning experiences, and Ford Driving Skills for Life. Each year the Ford Volunteer Corps provides more than 100,000 hours of volunteer support from 20,000 Ford employees for community projects in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit www.community.ford.com.
