ADTSEA Wins First Michelin / FIA Teen Road Safety Grant

$100,000 Grant Will Fund Program For Driver Education Teachers To Instruct On Teen Tire Safety Awareness

INDIANA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 26, 2015 / ADTSEA, the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association, has been named winner of the first $100,000 Michelin/FIA Teen Road Safety Grant. ADTSEA is the professional association representing traffic safety educators throughout the United States and abroad.

The award was announced by Michelin, a global designer, manufacturer and seller of tires for every type of vehicle, and Federation Internationale de l’Automobile(FIA), the governing body for world motor sport and the federation of the world’s leading motoring organizations from 134 countries on five continents.

ADTSEA was chosen to receive the entire $100,000 in grant funding for its proposal to develop a tire safety and maintenance training module to improve the safety of teen drivers. In addition to continuing the goals of Michelin’s Beyond the Driving Test campaign, this first year of the program celebrates the North American debut of the FIA-sanctioned Formula E Championship in Miami and Long Beach, Calif. Formula E is the highest class of competition for electrically powered cars.

As part of the grant, ADTSEA will deliver the newly developed training module through seven one-day workshops to approximately 200 driver education teachers in Miami, FL and Long Beach, CA and at the ADTSEA national conference in July. The workshops in Miami, FL and Long Beach, CA will be scheduled between the Fall of 2015 and the Spring of 2016. Additional details will be available once the workshops have been scheduled.

The one-day sessions will focus on how to teach tire safety and maintenance and how to incorporate this training module into driver education curriculums including the ADTSEA 3.0 Driver Education Curriculum. Participants will receive a free copy of the ADTSEA 3.0 Driver Education Curriculum – including lesson plans, learning activities, visuals and videos – customized with Michelin tire safety materials. As part of the teacher workshops, hands-on activities will “teach the teachers” how to conduct training on checking tire pressure, tread depth and tire condition. A Michelin tire expert will be on hand to provide technical expertise and answer questions. Teachers will be encouraged to take this information back to their own communities and conduct workshops for other teachers and the tire safety and maintenance module will be available on the ADTSEA website for downloading free of charge.

“ADTSEA is honored to be awarded this grant from Michelin and the FIA and we look forward to adding tire safety to our core curriculum,” said Allen Robinson, chief executive officer of ADTSEA. “This is a natural extension of our mission to equip the novice driver with the skills to begin the lifelong learning process of driving in today’s challenging highway transportation system.”

Pete Selleck, chairman and president of Michelin North America, said, “We are pleased to award the inaugural Michelin/FIA Teen Road Safety Grant to ADTSEA. Their proposal can easily be scaled to reach driver education teachers across the country and sustained well into the future. Through ADTSEA’s reach and commitment to quality education, we can help close a dangerous safety gap among teen drivers and create a lasting community legacy.”

Automobile crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens in America, with more than 5,000 deaths each year.* Of the 2.2 million vehicle crashes taking place annually, 12 percent are among inexperienced drivers and involve tire-related issues such as insufficient tire tread or improperly inflated tires. **

In addition to this grant, Michelin and the FIA are making resources available at beyondthedrivingtest.com to help teens and parents brush up on their car and tire maintenance skills. The two organizations are also committed to rallying the industry, calling for all 50 states to include tire safety information in their official driver’s education materials by 2020.

Michelin has partnered with the FIA since 2011 through a shared commitment to innovation and road safety and is a founding partner of Formula E. A unique feature of the Formula E series is the plan to leave a lasting legacy behind in the communities where the races are held.

About Michelin

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavyduty trucks and motorcycles. The company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs more than 21,500 and operates 20 major manufacturing plants in 17 locations.

About Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)

The FIA is the governing body for world motor sport and the federation of the world’s leading motoring organizations. Founded in 1904, with headquarters in Paris, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is a non-profit making association. It brings together more than 230 national motoring and sporting organizations from over 134 countries on five continents. Its member clubs represent the interests of millions of motorists and their families. The FIA is also the governing body for motor sport. It administers the rules and regulations (including safety regulations) for all international motor sport.

About the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA)

ADTSEA is a national advocate for quality traffic safety education; ADTSEA creates and publishes policies and guidelines for the discipline. ADTSEA conducts conferences, workshops and seminars and provides consultative services. The organization also develops educational materials. In 1970, ADTSEA took over the management of the National Student Safety Program (NSSP) from the National Education Associations Safety Commission (which was disbanded at that time) and has maintained this program ever since.

* 2012 NHTSA study focused on tire problems as experienced by light vehicles in the pre-crash phase.

** Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System: 2012.

Contact:

David Reich
david@reichcommunications.com
212 573-6000

SOURCE: American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA)

ReleaseID: 427263