Troy Athens Wins $25,000 to Support Safe Driving Awareness Effort

Source: State Farm

Troy Athens High School has something to celebrate this season thanks to thousands of safe driver commitments made in support of the school and the Celebrate My Drive program created by State Farm. One hundred schools are eligible to receive a grant ranging from $25,000 to 100,000.  Troy Athens High School was in the top 100, and awarded a $25,000 grant from State Farm. 

In addition to collecting commitments to be safe drivers, the Celebrate My Drive program recognizes a very important and joyous occasion in the life of young people - learning to drive. Car crashes are the number one killer of teens, and a teen’s first year on the road is the most dangerous. Using research as a guide, State Farm® is approaching teen driver safety, a winnable public health battle, by engaging teens while they learn to drive in a supportive and positive way. 

“State Farm is proud of Troy Athens High School’s efforts to generate excitement among students, faculty and the entire community to make safe driving commitments and have positive conversations about teen driver safety”, said local Agents Ann Percy and Rob Peterson.  “Our goal is to celebrate the joy of getting a license and encourage young people to be safe on the road.”

To stimulate more safe driving conversations, State Farm specified that 10% of these funds be used to support ongoing teen driver safety efforts. The need for more awareness around auto safety is supported in the report on distracted driving State Farm released this month. The July, 2013, survey of nearly 1000 motorists shines a light on a growing safety concern: people accessing the internet while driving.  Five years of data show a significant increase in the use of mobile web services while driving.

“Smartphones have introduced another set of distractions for drivers,” said Chris Mullen, Director of Technology Research at State Farm. “In addition to reducing texting while driving, we must remain vigilant about the growing use of multiple mobile web services and their potential for generating additional distractions while driving.”  

State Farm believes Celebrate My Drive is an effective tool to amplify the conversation around the importance of education related to teen driver safety.  Over 6,000,000 safe driving commitments were made in support of over 3,500 schools throughout the US and Canada.  State Farm agents held more than 800 teen driving safety events between Oct. 18th and Oct. 26th. These community celebrations focused on safe driving habits, emphasizing the benefits of safe choices as teens celebrate the freedom that comes with getting a drivers’ license.