October 14, 2012 -This year State Farm and the Michigan Sheriff's Association are partnering together on two teen driver safety initiatives in the state to promote safe teen driving - STOPPED (Sheriffs Telling my Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers) and Celebrate My Drive®. October 14 – 20. According to the US Center for Disease Control, car crashes are the number one killer of teens, and their first year on the road as a new driver is the most dangerous.
In 2007, State Farm® and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia worked with Congress in 2007 to designate the third week of October as National Teen Driver Safety Week – this year it is October 14 – 20. Given the prevalence of teen car crashes in October, this encourages parents, young drivers, lawmakers and educators to work together to change risky driving behaviors and help save lives.
STOPPED is a simple, free program which is available to every family in Michigan. Parents are provided with a STOPPED decal which they place on the driver's side of the windshield. The sticker serves as a visible reminder to teens that they should always drive as if their parents are in the vehicle with them. STOPPED also serves as a notification system for parents when teens are pulled over, for any reason, by any member of any Sheriff's department in Michigan - whether a citation is issued or not.
In 2011 the STOPPED program received national recognition when it was identified as a Bright Idea in Government Innovation by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Ash Institute. Since receiving national recognition several other states have implemented STOPPED programs.
Celebrate My Drive® is a new way to talk to teens about safe driving behavior. On September this year, we celebrated with thousands of teens, parents, State Farm associates, law enforcement and community partners to focus on the milestone that getting a driver's license brings in an effort to talk WITH teens about safety driving behaviors.
Angie Rinock, State Farm Insurance Media Relations Specialist, (269) 207-8006
The Michigan Sheriffs' Association, created in 1877, is the oldest law enforcement organization in the state. For more information about the Michigan Sheriffs' Association, or to support programs like STOPPED as a citizen or business member, please visit our Web site at www.misheriff.org.
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
