The mission of the SmartDrive Foundation is simply this:
To reduce loss of life and property in senseless motor vehicle crashes through intensive and interactive defensive driving skill development for Teen Drivers.
SmartDrive serves high schools, their students and the student’s families across Delaware, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and suburban Southeastern Pennsylvania – we will often speak of Delaware when providing examples for our learning programs.
Here is some background to set your vision into the driving environment your Teen Driver is encountering.
The State of Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles issues more than 12,000 Graduated Drivers Licenses each year to Teen Drivers between the ages of 16-18.
More than 10,000 Teen Drivers each year complete the Driver Education Programs provided in all Delaware schools – public, private and even for the home schooled. These students received approximately 40 total hours of classroom and on-the-road training before getting their “blue cards,” making them eligible to obtain a driver’s license on their 16th birthday.
With the new license, those students began Graduated Driver License (GDL) requirement, starting with the six month Parent Supervised Driving Period. During this time, Parents, or a designated adult over the age of 25, must have documented in a driving log, 50 hours of supervised behind-the-wheel driving for their newly licensed Teen Driver.
When complete, the Teen driving log is returned to the Delaware Department of Education.
The approval you gave for your student to enroll in SmartDrive Classic indicated that the six month Parent Supervised Driving Period is completed.
Each year, those 30,000 new Teen and Young Drivers join more than 800,000 already licensed Delaware drivers already on the state’s busy roads and highways.
SmartDrive thanks you for taking an important step by approving your child’s enrollment in SmartDrive Classic as a means of encouraging your Teen Driver to become a safe SmartDriver.
For many Parents, there are few greater moments of concern than the first time that Parent hands the keys over to your Teen Driver. We know, we have been there.
Now that your Teen Driver is driving on their own, completing SmartDrive Classic provided them with the opportunity to refresh the safe driving knowledge they gained during their Driver Education class along with what they have learned from you during the GDL Parent Supervised Driving period.
At SmartDrive, we hope to foster an ongoing dialogue with your Teen Driver, not just as a newly licensed or permitted driver, but continuing in the years as they gain experience behind the wheel.
SmartDrive encourages parents to continue to drive with your Teen behind the wheel, so you can observe their progress and offer coaching.
SmartDrive is committed to Teen Driver Safety
In our view, driving impacts us all, we should constantly strive to stay on top of the driving trends to improve our skills. SmartDrive urges you to follow us on social media – Facebook and Twitter, where we post news and vital information for new and experienced drivers daily.
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One of the ties that binds us all is the fact that we each have a Teen Driving story — that emotional scar from a terrible crash that involved a family member, friend or schoolmate. The SmartDrive goal is to eliminate that terrible experience, that scar, for today’s Teen Drivers and those who will follow. Thank you for participating in this program with your Teen Driver, and welcome aboard!
For completing this module and quiz, your Teen Driver will receive up to 100 additional points toward their total score in the annual SmartDrive Scholarship competition. Once the Parent Lesson is complete, the Teen Driver they will be eligible to submit an essay on topic related to Teen Driving to enter the scholarship competition.
