Nearly a third of annual traffic fatalities in the US involve drivers under the age of 25, which means there's a need to improve driver education among younger drivers. To aid with this, Honda invited organizations in October 2021 to propose ideas to improve teen safety during National Teen Driver Safety Week.
Now, the Japanese automaker has announced that it's providing over $2 million in financial support for 25 organizations across the US. The grants are meant to finance various initiatives aimed at young drivers for education, training, and resources that supplement or go beyond traditional driver's training courses or mandated state driver's programs.
Gallery: Honda Funds Grants To Advance Teen Driver Safety in the US
"Honda is pleased to support organizations actively working in their local communities, and at the national level, to advance driver education and safety awareness," said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion & Diversity at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Together, we hope to identify the most effective ways to reach and positively influence young drivers."
There's a wide variety of initiatives listed across the 25 organizations. Among others, the initiatives include delivering comprehensive driver education, safety training, and driving training; creating public service announcements to appeal to teens' caring and community responsibility to discourage distracted driving; and using a driving simulator at a public high school to evaluate the effectiveness of ABS-activated emergency stopping.
Honda is now accepting new grant applications for next year, with the applications open until October 31, 2022.
Of course, this is still in line with Honda's vision of a collision-free society by 2050, an approach the automaker calls "Safety for Everyone." This also includes safety features in Honda vehicles, such as the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, as well as advanced active safety and driver-assistive systems found in Honda Sensing and AcuraWatch technologies.
