Press release
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA, THE UPS FOUNDATION
DRIVE INTO SEATTLE WITH UPS ROAD CODE PROGRAM

UPS Road Code, the national teen safe driving program implemented by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and The UPS Foundation, is hitting the road for safety with free community events throughout the country. The second stop in 2013 is the Southwest Boys & Girls Club in Seattle on Thursday, July 25 from 4:30p.m. - 6:30p.m., where UPS volunteers and Club members will be on-hand to educate local parents and teens on the importance of safe driving. Over 1,000 distraction-involved collisions occur in Seattle every year, and in 2011 alone, teenagers aged 16 to 20 were involved in 32,224 car accidents, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

UPS ROAD CODE CHALLENGE SEATTLE
DATE: Thursday, July 25
TIME: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
PLACE: Southwest Boys & Girls Club
9800 8th Ave. SW Suite 105
Seattle, WA 98106 (which is technically at Greenbridge in White Center)

Event Activities
-Race the clock in a fun and challenging obstacle course, highlighting morning distractions before school and ways to stay safe
-Test your driving skills with our lifelike driving simulators, presenting real-life scenarios on how distracted driving affects safety on the road
-Sign the national petition pledging safety behind the wheel
-Take the Road Code Report Card to quiz yourself on safe driving knowledge
-Speak with representatives from the community on techniques for eliminating distractions on the road

At the local event, attending teens will have the opportunity to participate in fun activities and challenges, including a race against their peers through an obstacle course to promote road safety. Teens and parents will also have the chance to interact with UPS Road Code’s virtual driving simulators and experience first-hand the dangers of distracted driving. Participants also have the opportunity to sign a petition, pledging to make the roads safer by not driving distracted and take a safe driving quiz to test their driving skills.

Throughout the year, The UPS Foundation and BGCA continue to educate teens across the country through UPS Road Code. UPS Road Code is largely based on the same safety training used by UPS’s own drivers, who are known for their safe driving techniques. In fact, UPS's 102,000 drivers worldwide log more than three billion miles per year with less than one accident per million miles driven. Taught by UPS employees trained as volunteer instructors, the program provides teens with four sessions of classroom-based instruction, as well as time “behind the wheel” of a virtual driving simulator.

“Statistics show that teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash,” said Emily Slagle, Executive Director, Southwest Boys & Girls Club. “It’s never too early for parents and teens to discuss the importance of safe driving and come up with new driving goals to reach in the coming year. We are very grateful to UPS for providing a safe-driving program like UPS Road Code at our Club year-round, which goes a long way in helping to educate our teens.”
UPS Road Code focuses on different safety principles each week, from basic instruction to the consequences of risky behaviors such as talking on cell phones, texting or drinking while driving. Throughout the program, teens have a chance to practice what they’ve learned on the driving simulators, which feature a computer screen that serves as a windshield to the program’s interactive animation, a steering wheel and life-like gas and brake pedals.

“The UPS Road Code program is more than just a safe-driving program; it’s about empowering teens to be ambassadors for safety and encouraging them to act as catalysts for driving change,” states Myron Gray, president, U.S. Operations. “UPS Road Code provides information and resources to help teens through Boys & Girls Clubs make our roads safer, starting with themselves and spreading to family, friends and beyond.”
With the UPS Road Code program in Seattle, teens have the opportunity to make a difference and drive change for themselves and their peers. Using social media channels, such as the UPS Road Code Facebook page, they can share online tools and resources developed to support the safe driving program. From tips and important safety information to interactive online activities, teens can be fully armed to spread awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.

The highly successful UPS Road Code program is currently available in 52 Boys & Girls Clubs throughout 36 U.S. cities and reaches 5,200 teenagers per year nationwide.

Teens, parents and others interested in learning more about safe driving and the UPS Road Code program should visit www.ups.com/roadcode or www.bgca.org/roadcode. For regular updates about the program and the national and local events, as well as helpful tips, follow UPS Road Code on www.facebook.com/roadcode.