Cooper Tire and Rubber Company have created a new app called Tread Wisely that is attempting to make driving a little safer for young drivers, and it has enlisted race car drivers to support the initiative.
Tread Wisely reminders users to send their parents and loved ones an “I got there” message when the driver arrives at his or her destination. Once they’ve arrived, the app will send a pre-written text message to designated recipients to let them know that their child made it to where they were going safely. The app also features videos with car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. that give people tutorials on changing a tire, what to do if he is or she is pulled over by law enforcement, etc. The app also reminds users to complete monthly tire pressure and tread depth checks.
Father daughter racing duo Johnny and Loni Unser are proponents of the app. Loni Unser, 19, said in a press release that she knows how important driving safely is because she has been a racer and grown up around car races her whole life.
“In this way I’ve been lucky, but most drivers my age haven’t experienced what I have, and they really don’t understand just how important tires are to their safety on the road,” she said. “That’s why I’m proud to join my dad as the spokesperson for the Tread Wisely app.”
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The app is free to download.
According to the CDC, six teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries and a total of 2,333 teens in the U.S. died in car crashes in 2015. In 2014, 221,313 people of the same age group had been in the hospital for injuries sustained in a car crash.
Tread Wisely Sizzle from Cooper Tire on Vimeo.