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Volvo for Life Gets it Wrong
Feb 20 2008 by Sara Lacey
2/20/08
Driver's Edge Deserves Recognition, Support
The Volvo For Life heroes awards were announced Tuesday, and in case you missed our earlier post on this topic, we had a proverbial dog in the fight. The awards are Volvo's way of recognizing people doing amazing work in our communities, and a cause near and dear to our hearts, Driver's Edge, was one of three finalists in the Safety category. Driver's Edge is a nonprofit group that provides free driver's education to teens across the country. They know car accidents are the No. 1 cause of fatalities among teens, and they work relentlessly to change that statistic.
As it turns out, though, Volvo's independent panel of judges named Marilyn Adams the hero award winner in the Safety category, for creating "a nonprofit organization working to educate children about farm safety and health."
While we congratulate Ms. Adams on her win and acknowledge the good in her work, we're a bit surprised by the panel's decision. About 100 children die every year in farm-related accidents (which is, in fact, 100 too many), but in stark contrast to that, Traffic Safety Facts — 2005 — Young Drivers states that 7,460 young drivers were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2005. Nearly every parent on the planet will at one time or another need to deal with a teen driver, so we're going to keep stumping for Driver's Edge.
Driver's Edge doesn't just provide regular ol' driver's education, it lets kids practice emergency avoidance techniques, skid recovery, emergency braking techniques and more. Plus, the students learn all these things from super-cool professional racecar drivers. Driver's Edge is Awesome. That's right, out of love for the folks at Edge, I just used a capital letter inappropriately.
If you'd like to support Driver's Edge and its quest to save the lives of teen drivers, go to www.DriversEdge.org. You can make a donation, learn more about the program or find a Driver's Edge event near you. Go along with your teen driver. You'll learn a thing or two, and probably even have some fun doing it.
User Comments
Hey ‘Adult’ - why don’t you rent a teen (or borrow a neighborhood one) and go to a Driver’s Edge event as their guardian? They’re very receptive to ‘parent’ participation.
Apparently this site prefers only comments that agree with their opinion. My dissenting opinion from yesterday is not posted here. Good job!
Bicyclist,
I didn’t see your opinion from yesterday. Are you sure it posted?
I see people arguing with us all the time… something must have gone awry in the post process. Bicyclist, did you enter the code on the next page?
I’m glad my parents sprung for a special driver’s education course for me; it gave me skills that my peers didn’t have, and I can honestly believe that courses like the one I took significantly reduce the risk of accidents involving new drivers. The course wasn’t quite like Driver’s Edge, but it was still very worthwhile. I can only hope that more people take advantage of Driver’s Edge in the future.
As the mom of a teen who is about to get his license, the statistics scare the heck out of me. Automobile accidents are the #1 killer of young people age 15-21.
No joke.
I know from personal experience that the Driver’s Edge Program is unique in it’s ability to connect the fun of driving with it’s awesome responsibility. The teen audience is engaged and energized which does wonders for their ability to absorb all the important information.
Way to go guys (and gals) - even without the Volvo award, you are tops on this mom’s list!
As stated Drivers Edge was one THREE that could have got this award, but when it was said and done the person that was picked is the winner.Drivers edge has its place and has value for all it provides, But i think the comments here just show how much of a POOR Loser this group realy is. And i think thats what wrong with the world today. Every body thinks there better than others when they dont win.
Look on the Bright side there is always Next time.
Shoot, I was going more for Sour Grapes than Poor Loser. I kid! But seeing as we’re a website geared towards better automotive lives for all, surely you can understand why we were disappointed.
But for the record, I certainly don’t think I’m better than Marilyn Adams. On the contrary, I aspire to be the kind of person she and the other nominees are. I can also say that I enjoyed telling my kids about the Volvo For Life Awards nominees. It was cool to share with them what amazing things these people do.
Wish I was offered it when I was a kid but now would have to pay for it(from what I see expensive). What about us adults who could use this traning that was never given? The kid in my cries no fair.