As part of their ongoing Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. Texting and Driving Prevention campaign, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are partnering with YouTube creator and actress Meg DeAngelis to raise awareness of this dangerous behavior. The collaboration also coincides with the release of new television campaign public service advertisements (PSAs) and the launch of Project Yellow Light, a national video contest and scholarship program that aims to educate young drivers on and generate engagement around this issue.
Meg is joining the effort as part of the Ad Council’s Creators for Good program by distributing new exclusive video content to her almost four million subscribers on YouTube. The video amplifies the campaign message, showing drivers that no matter how “safely” they think they can drive while doing other things, distracted driving is always dangerous. Created as an advice video, Meg runs through “10 Everyday Things You’re Doing Wrong” - from putting in bobby pins to folding your clothes - and ends with a serious message to her fans about the dangers of texting and driving.
“Texting and driving is such a serious issue, so I'm really proud to be a voice of this important campaign,” said DeAngelis. “I want all of my viewers to stay safe, so I hope that together, we can spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7682151-ad-council-project-yellow-light/
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) was given exclusive access to a 1981 Ferrari GTSI recovered at the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach earlier this month.
The car, one of 1,743 of that model made in 1981, was stolen in 1987 from Newport Beach, Calif., while on consignment at a dealership. The vehicle identification number (VIN) was later switched to the VIN of a 1982 Ferrari that had already been exported to Norway in 2005. When the vehicle arrived at the port, it was headed from Texas to Poland.
Working with Customs and Border Protection, the California Highway Patrol and Ferrari representatives, NICB was able to determine the true identity of the car and to recover the original theft report filed with Newport Beach Police in 1987. NICB records showed only 12 stolen red Ferraris still unrecovered at this time.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7665252-nicb-stolen-ferrari/
Think “muscle car” performance, and images of speed and power are more likely to come to mind than crash tests and safety ratings. Because no one buys a sports car to drive in the slow lane, the best all-¬ around occupant crash protection is crucial. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently put a trio of iconic sports coupes through their paces, and unlike more sedate sedans, none earns the scores needed to clinch a TOP SAFETY PICK award.
IIHS evaluated 2016 models of the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang in the full battery of crashworthiness evaluations. The Mustang comes closest to earning TOP SAFETY PICK, while the Camaro falls shortin one category and lacks an available front crash prevention system. The Challenger is most in need of improvement.
To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK, vehicles must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations and have a basic-¬rated front crash prevention system. To qualify for the Institute’s highest award, TOP SAFETY PICK+, vehicles must earn good ratings in the five crashworthiness tests and an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.
Spring is around the corner, and it won’t be long before it’s prom and graduation seasons for many high schoolers. Rites of passage for many, these are times for teens to celebrate, but can also be times of poor decision-making, especially when vehicles are involved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 2,524 teen drivers and passengers were killed and 177,000 were injured in 2013. Twenty-seven percent of these fatalities occurred between April and June, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
“The statistics are staggering, especially when you consider that most of these accidents and fatalities are preventable,” said Randy Petro, Mercury Insurance’s chief claims officer. “We don’t want any families to suffer through the loss of a child, so Mercury is taking action with the launch of the ‘Mercury Insurance Drive Safe Challenge.’”
The Mercury Insurance Drive Safe Challenge kicked off with a free defensive driving program, which included hands-on driving skills training and classroom material. An interactive website provides teens with detailed instruction, as well as gives parents the tools to shape responsible driving behavior.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7772251-mercury-teen-drive-safe-challenge/
Every 33 seconds a child under 13 is involved in a car crash in the United States, according to 2014 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Safety seats, if used correctly, can dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or injury. But 59 percent of car seats are misused in a way that could reduce their effectiveness, and over one-third of children killed in car crashes were completely unrestrained at the time of the crash. Today, NHTSA and the Ad Council unveiled a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of selecting the right seat for their child’s age and size, and to remind them that car seats, booster seats and seat belts offer the best protection for children in crashes and help save lives.
“Life can change in an instant. We want parents and caregivers to prepare for the unexpected, rather than face their worst nightmare,” said Dr. Mark Rosekind, NHTSA administrator. “Buckling up a child correctly and in the right seat is the best protection any parent can do to see their child walk away unharmed from a car crash.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7774451-ad-council-find-the-right-seat/
The latest small overlap front crash test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reveal a range of performance among many of the best-selling small cars in the U.S. market. Of the 12 models evaluated, half earn a good or acceptable rating and qualify for the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.
The 2-door and 4-door models of the Honda Civic are the only small cars to earn the top rating of good in the test. IIHS evaluated the Civics earlier this year and released the results in March. The Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and 2014 model Scion tC earn acceptable ratings.
Today, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), the not-for-profit trade association of America’s commercial broadcast television industry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Ad Council launched their 11th year of “Project Roadblock: Local TV Puts the Brakes on Drunk Driving.” Launched in December 2003, Project Roadblock is the local broadcast television industry’s extension of NHTSA and the Ad Council’s ‘Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving’ PSA campaign. Since then, the multi-media campaign has served as an opportunity for local television stations to combat drunk driving by donating on-air, online and mobile advertising time and space for the PSAs. To date, broadcast TV stations across the nation have donated more than $34 million in media to support this effort.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7391951-ad-council-tvb-nhtsa-partner-to-prevent-drunk-driving-fatalities-during-holidays/
Only 1 minicar out of 11 tested achieves an acceptable rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small overlap front crash test, making these tiny vehicles the worst performing group of any evaluated so far.
The Chevrolet Spark's acceptable rating in the test, along with good ratings in the Institute's four other crashworthiness evaluations, earns the new minicar a 2014 TOP SAFETY PICK award. The Spark was among the initial award winners announced in December. The new small overlap test results for the rest of the minicar group mean that no other models in this size category join the Spark in the winner's circle yet.
The period between Christmas and New Year’s typically has one of the highest rates of impaired driving fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In an effort to reduce drunk and buzzed driving related incidents during the holidays, NHTSA, the Ad Council and the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) launched their 12th annual “Project Roadblock: Local TV Puts the Brakes on Drunk Driving.”
Project Roadblock was created in 2004 in support of NHTSA and the Ad Council’s Buzzed Driving Prevention public service advertising (PSA) campaign. To date, broadcast TV stations across the nation have donated more than $40 million in media to support this effort. The partnership aims to unite local television stations in creating a nationwide advertising roadblock by airing Project Roadblock PSAs (Public Service Announcements) between December 26 and December 31. Local broadcast stations voluntarily participate in the campaign by donating on-air, online and mobile time and space with a special push at 10 p.m. local time on New Year’s Eve. In addition, TV stations will be reaching out to their communities on social media to share social graphics and messaging to further reach audiences.
“Drunk driving remains a serious threat on our roads and claims more than 10,000 lives a year,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. ”Local broadcast television is an effective tool in reaching consumers, and we thank the TVB, all the stations, and the Ad Council for their ongoing support of drunk driving prevention, especially during the holiday season.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7701751-ad-council-nhtsa-buzzed-driving-psa/
The ranks of top-rated booster seats continue to grow as manufacturers design models to earn high marks in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s annual booster seat evaluations, plus offer the style and convenience parents look for when it’s time to pick a safe seat for their booster-age children.
Among the 41 models new for 2014, there are 27 BEST BET seats — more than in any prior year — and three GOOD BETs. Eight boosters are in a category the Institute calls “Check Fit,” and there are three new models that the Institute doesn’t recommend using as boosters. Prices for BEST BET boosters start around $25 and go up to about $370, depending on features, and several models are LATCH compatible.
Lytx®, Inc., the global leader in video-based driver safety, unveiled today a giant leap forward in safe driving innovation with its Lytx ActiveVision℠ service available for select Lytx DriveCam™ clients immediately, and industry-wide in January 2016. The ActiveVision service will be publicly demonstrated this weekend at the 2015 American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition in Philadelphia.
The ActiveVision service is a revolutionary and comprehensive safety solution that helps detect and address, both in real time and over time, distracted and drowsy driving and following too close, all potentially dangerous and costly driving behaviors that often go undetected -- behaviors that contribute to 6,000 deaths, 500,000 injuries, and more than $175 billion in economic costs each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7277351-lytx-activevision-distracted-driving/
A new test program by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the performance of front crash prevention systems to help consumers decide which features to consider and encourage automakers to speed adoption of the technology. The rating system is based on research by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) indicating that forward collision warning and automatic braking systems are helping drivers avoid front-to-rear crashes.