BMW Teen Driving – Highlighting the dangers of distracted driving

It’s no surprise that teens have the highest crash rate of any group in the United States. According to AAA, about 963,000 drivers aged 16 to19 were involved in police-reported crashes in 2013, resulting in 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths. Cited as the most common forms of distraction leading up to a crash by a teen driver include everything from interacting with passengers in the car, cell phone use, singing and even reaching for an object. Based simply on their age, young drivers have less time behind the wheel and cannot draw upon their previous experiences to properly manage unsafe conditions.

In light of this issue, BMW is currently leading the Ultimate Driving Experience, a nationwide tour that offers dynamic, behind-the-wheel driving programs through 10 events in 9 markets, for a total of 90 event days. One popular component of The Ultimate Driving Experience is the Teen Driving School, which is a fully interactive, 2-hour teen driving course featuring the BMW X1 and 228i that will be offered at no cost. It pairs teen drivers with a BMW-certified instructor to help improve driving skills through driver awareness activities and hands-on driving exercises including breaking maneuvers, accident avoidance and slide recovery. A main focus of the Teen Driving School is to create awareness about the consequences of distracted driving, emphasizing the dangers of texting while driving and why it affects not only teens – but everyone who drives a vehicle. The Car Coach 2.0, Shelby Fix, and BMW professional driving instructor and motorsport competitor, Kevin York, are available to provide safety tips for parents and their teen drivers. Shelby will also share her personal experience with distracted driving and Kevin will discuss The Teen Driving School and what BMW is doing to encourage safe driving.