Michelin wants to ensure that your teenager is safe behind the wheel. They have begun a program to ensure that teen drivers are educated about tire safety.
The drive behind the tire giant’s campaign is that most teen driver education programs fail to provide information about tire safety, thus teens have a limited knowledge of how to make sure the tires they’re driving on will keep them safe. Moreover, by not including this information in driver education courses is likely to leave even experienced motorists with the sense that tire safety is unimportant.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that inexperienced drivers who experience a tire-related issue (i.e. tire failure, tire blowout, or any other tire problem) are responsible for roughly 12% of car accidents.
To help combat this issue, Michelin’s Beyond the Driving Test safety campaign uses teen-friendly media (namely YouTube videos – some even featuring YouTube stars) to get the word out about tire safety.
In order to discover what teen drivers already know about tire safety, Michelin teamed up with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile to survey American teens…and the results were shocking. Most teens surveyed lacked even basic tire knowledge.
Spreading tire safety knowledge, Michelin believes, could save 300,000 American lives each year.
What Can Parents Do?
As a parent, you will need to supplement your teen driver’s education classes when it comes to tire safety. This can be as simple as teaching them the “penny test” to check for tread issues. When inserted into a tire’s tread with Lincoln’s head facing down, if Lincoln’s head is not completely covered then you are in need of new tires. You should check several spots along the tire to check for the wear pattern.
Have your teen driver watch this video to see how the Penny Test is done:
You should also teach your teens proper tire pressure, as well as how to check tire pressure.