Gwinnett Place Body Shop

Toyota's TeenDrive365 Keeps Teen Drivers Alive

The first year when a teenager gets their driver's license is one of the most dangerous periods of their lives and while today's cars  are safer than ever, car accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. If you have a teenager (or even knows one) they should know about Toyota's TeenDrive365,  a driving safety platform that helps families as they navigate through the critical first year of a teen's independent driving.

At Gwinnett Place Body Shop, we know that teen drivers face a ton of challenges and temptations when they start driving at age 16. So, that's why we're happy to be sharing this information with parents with teenage drivers and the adolescent drivers themselves.

For more than a decade, Toyota has been active in designing teen driving programs to promote an ongoing conversation between parents and teens through online tools and expert advice and tips, as well as local events and social media. 

One of TeenDrive365's main deliverables is to inspire parents to display safer driving behaviors for their teenagers. This  approach of bringing parents and teens together to promote safe driving is based on research from a study Toyota conducted with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.  The study uncovered a noteworthy connection between how parents and their teens drive and discovering that parents are the biggest influence on how a teen will act while driving.

Yound adults will look at their parents' driving habits and mirror that behavior. If a parent is always texting while driving or talking on their cell phone, tailigating and speeding, teenagers will do the same.

So, if you have a teenager driver, take a moment to show him or her the TeenDrive365 web site, because it might just save a life. Crucial real questions and pressing concerns can be discussed openly, which is really the ideal to start.

Another outstanding resource for teenage drivers and their parents, they should check out Toyota Driving Expectations at www.toyotadrivingexpectations.com. It provides hands-on, real world defensive driving courses that go far beyond what is instructed in standard driver education courses.

Also, Toyota Teen Driver at www.toyotateendriver.com offers free online teen safety resources to parents, teens, educators and schools. By tapping into all of these amazing resources, there is no reason why parents and teenage drivers can be educated and aware of all the pitfalls associated with distracted driving.

If young adults can be given responsibility in small doses and added more freedom as they show progress, they have a shot at being safe drivers.  The bottom line for parents is that you can't be around your kids 24/7, so they need to take control of their own lives. You can teach them well and provide them with all of the information in the world, but in the end it is up to them.

With programs and online tools such as TeenDrive365, here in Duluth  and throughout the entire state of GA, we're all playing a positive role. With all of this work and with so many experts and companies like Toyota working hard to eliminate teenage distratced driving, we can make huge strides.

Sources: Toyota Motor Co.,TeenDrive365 and Toyota Teen Driver