Presentation to the East Hamilton Kiwanas Club

A comparison of teen driver deaths annually to the alleged total deaths
attributable to Bridgestone/Firestone tires

Canada 1999

US 1999

Firestone 1991 - 2000

  • 410 Canadian teens lost their lives
  • 29,321 were injured
  • Teens are 3 to 4 times more likely to be involved in an automobile crash than any other age group
  • 8,175 15 – 20 year old drivers were involved in fatal crashes
  • 3,561 15 – 20 year old drivers were killed
  • an additional 362,000 were injured
  • societal cost estimated in excess of $32 billion
  • recall of 6.5 million Bridgestone/Firestone tires in the US
  • a cost of 1.3 billion dollars in sales to the company
  • 148 suspected deaths
  • 500 suspected injuries
  • recall dates back to 1991

 


Percentage of Driver and Passenger Fatalities
and Serious Injuries by Age Group – Canada 1999

Age
Group

Fatalities

Serious Injuries

Drivers

Passengers

Drivers

Passengers

0 - 4

0.0

3.3

0.0

4.2

5 - 14

0.1

8.8

0.4

11.2

15 - 19

11.5

20.4

11.4

19.8

20 - 24

14.3

10.7

15.1

13.2

25 - 34

19.4

11.5

21.7

14.2

35 - 44

16.2

15.3

20.4

10.2

45 - 54

12.9

8.7

14.3

8.2

55 - 64

9.6

6.0

7.1

6.1

NL 65

16.0

14.7

9.2

9.3

Not Stated

0.0

0.6

0.4

3.6

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Teen passengers at greater risk with the number of passengers on board.

The I Promise Program is an injury prevention initiative designed to reduce injury and death attributable to teen drivers. The program relies on families (parents and teens) and communities. The particulars include a parent-teen contract and a mechanism to enable community reports of driver behaviour.

Parent(s) and teen sit down, read through and complete a simple document that engages them in discussion and planning for driving. The contract process facilitates parent-teen communication on issues related to driver behaviour, expectations and responsibilities. It reinforces the parent-teen relationship, family authority structure and parental guidance to foster teen growth and maturation. The process validates the adolescent ritual of coming of age by learning to drive through setting out mutual concerns, needs and responsibilities with respect to driving privileges. Teens signal their maturity by engaging and accepting a process designed with their safety and security in mind.

Community participation is enabled by a rear-window decal that is affixed to the car. The decal is lettered with a toll-free phone number and a message that encourages the reporting of driver behaviour. Community phone calls are taken by a call-center and reports are communicated to the parent (only) for the purpose of follow-up with the driver as established by the date and time of the report, in accordance with pre-determined outcomes as set out in the parent-teen contract. The rear-window decal serves as an on-going reminder to the driver of social responsibilities as they are driving.

Gary Direnfeld
(905) 628-4847
direnfel@spectranet.ca