Free, Hands-On, Advanced Driver Training Clinics Coming to Dulles, Va.

To help newly licensed teen drivers gain additional practice and skills behind the wheel, Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford, and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) are bringing the Ford Driving Skills for Life program and its hands-on training clinics to Dulles International Airport (44930 Rudder Road, Dulles, VA) May 21-22, 2022.

Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for novice teen drivers, and they are twice as likely as adult drivers to be in a fatal crash. Moreover, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), traffic deaths reached a 13-year high in 2020, despite a decline in driving during the pandemic. NHTSA reported that 38,824 people were killed on U.S. roadways in 2020 – the highest number since 2007 and an increase of 6.8% from 2019.

NHTSA preliminary numbers indicate that in the first nine months of 2021, there was an increase of approximately 12% in motor vehicle fatalities, which is the highest percentage increase over a nine-month period in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.

Now in its 19th year, Ford Driving Skills for Life pairs newly licensed or permitted drivers with professional driving instructors for hands-on driving training. Developed by Ford Fund, GHSA and a panel of safety experts, the program addresses issues and critical factors that influence crashes, including vehicle handling, hazard recognition, speed and space management, distracted driving and impaired driving. The free training clinics focus on necessary skills for safe driving beyond what is learned in traditional driver education courses and is being conducted in partnership with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

“Teens are new, inexperienced drivers and Driving Skills for Life allows young drivers to learn in a safe environment alongside a professional instructor,” said Joe Avila, senior manager, Ford Motor Company Fund. “Our hands-on lessons reinforce the importance of developing safe driving habits while also exposing teens to risky behaviors like impaired or distracted driving, and demonstrating why they are dangerous.”

Parents/guardians are encouraged to participate with their teen(s), given the significant role they play in shaping their child’s driving habits. Parents can register their teen(s) for a free training session by visiting drivingskillsforlife.com/training/hands-on-training.

“Teen drivers are more likely than any other age group to be involved in a fatal crash due to inexperience and maturity,” said GHSA Senior Director of External Engagement Pam Shadel Fischer, a nationally recognized teen safe driving expert and co-author of Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving. “With programs like Ford Driving Skills for Life, we are reaching both new drivers and their parents with information that helps reduce risky driving behaviors.”

GHSA and the Ford Driving Skills for Life team recommend that parents of teen drivers positively impact their teen driver’s safety by doing the following:

· Know and enforce your state’s Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) law, which phases in driving privileges as teens gain more experience. Research confirms the effectiveness of GDL laws in reducing fatalities involving teen drivers. Additional information about Virginia’s novice driver laws can be found here.

· Schedule regular driving practice with your teen, even after they’re licensed to drive without supervision. Teens whose parents actively monitor their driving are less likely to be involved in a crash and to engage in risky behaviors such as speeding, driving impaired or distracted, and not buckling up.

· Collaborate with your teen to create and enforce a parent-teen driving agreement (PTDA) that clearly states the rules and the consequences for violating them. Posting the PTDA in a location where everyone will see it, such as on the refrigerator or adjacent to the car keys, will help to reinforce its importance.

For more information and updates on tour locations, visit drivingskillsforlife.com.