February 25, 1970 – my life forever changed.
Simple driver error took the life of an 18 year old friend of the family and set my life on a path of higher education and training for driving. Not only did my parents raise the bar on the type of training they felt would keep me safe, I’ve been exposed to professional training throughout my life which has enabled me to drive 47 years now, nearly 2 million miles in 4 different countries on everything with rubber tires without a single incident or scratch on a vehicle.
But the 1970 crash wasn’t the only one that impacted my life. Over the years, I’ve been exposed to numerous crash scenes where I was either 1st, 2nd or 3rd on the scene and in some cases, either helped the injured or assisted in removing a dead teen from a wrecked vehicle. In my late 40’s it became clear that I needed to get involved in teen driving safety and do something to make in difference and attempt to save these lives.
That’s when I began intensely researching teenage vehicle fatalities and the education and training that preceded them. I was shocked to discover that the United States began implementing a Crash Safety approach to reducing injuries and deaths while other countries around the globe continued pursuing a Crash Prevention strategy. While teenagers in America are only required to pass a simple test to obtain their license, other countries require the driver to demonstrate they can safely control an automobile in an adverse situation.
The Crash Safety approach has effectively disconnected drivers from the vehicle and failed to educate or train them with the skills required to prevent crashes and safely control the automobile in any environment or circumstance. It has created a culture that offers no education or training for parents who are teaching teens to drive and instead, they’re simply encouraged to buy the safest car for their new driver.
The CADR Foundation, our partners, and our supporters are on a mission to change this. A driver is the only irreplaceable component in the entire driving equation and teaching that driver the skills necessary to Arrive Alive at every destination needs to be the priority of every family. This organization was created to help families build a solid foundation for driver skill development.
The CADR Approach
We believe that preparing teenagers for the responsibility of driving requires more than passing a test, complying with the rules and gaining experience behind the wheel. It requires:
- research and evidence based education
- active parent involvement
- driver cognitive development
- and practical hands-on training.
CADR Foundation uses research to develop educational resources and programs that help parents and teens navigate the learning-to-drive process, while collaborating with driving schools to incorporate their hands-on training.
Through research, education and strategic partnerships, we aim to improve how America prepares young drivers and build a culture that prioritizes crash prevention, personal responsibility and safe driving.