DCH Auto Group, which is a part of Lithia Motors, is calling attention to teen driving safety this month as part of Global Youth Traffic Safety Month (GYTSM). 

Officials highlighted that throughout May, all DCH Auto Group dealerships in New Jersey, New York and California will be sponsoring activities to raise awareness about how to keep young drivers safe on our roads and highways. 

Throughout the month, each DCH dealership will display the symbolic gray ribbon, the recognized symbol for GYTSM, to show DCH’s support for this vital cause.

The group emphasized May is an important time for teens to be focused on driving safety.

“With prom, graduation and summer trips just ahead, the potential for traffic-related deaths and injuries that involve young drivers and passengers increases alarmingly,” DCH said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2013 close to 2,500 teens were killed in vehicle crashes. Of the teens (aged 13-19) that died in passenger vehicle crashes, NHTSA noted approximately 55 percent were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. 

That's why DCH Auto Group and its partners, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), and numerous likeminded organizations across the globe are raising awareness all month long to educate teens about safe driving habits.

To kick off this month of awareness in New Jersey, DCH Brunswick Toyota partnered with Edison High School to sponsor a Distracted Driving Summit at the high school campus.  Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to take part in activities designed to raise awareness about seat belt usage, texting and driving, and other distractions that can result in tragedy.

Then on Monday, all DCH dealerships will participate in a promotion with teenSMART, an evidence based, scientifically proven program to build crash avoidance skills resulting in fewer crashes with less severe outcomes.  The program includes computer-based driving simulations, video based instruction, in-car driving exercises and a certification test. 

Upon completion of the certification test, participants can receive a certificate that can entitle them to a discount on their automobile insurance premiums of up to 20 percent.

From May 12 through May 15, DCH Safe Driving Foundation is partnering with Toyota TeenDrive365, SADD and NOYS, sponsoring activities at New Jersey high schools, where students will have an opportunity to experience Toyota's state-of-the-art driving simulator.

“Unlike other simulators, this device is installed in a Toyota Corolla, where you can test your skills behind the wheel of the car as you drive in a virtual space, while operating the controls of an actual vehicle,” group officials said.

Since 2008, DCH Auto Group, in keeping with the company's core values, has focused its charitable giving, local community involvement, and grass roots activism to the cause of teen safe driving.

The group, with 27 dealerships in New Jersey, New York, and California, formed the DCH Auto Group Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit charity, to further the company’s message that distracted driving, especially among new and young drivers, is dangerous and potentially deadly.

DCH is also a member of The National Safety Council Coalition on Teen Driving.

“Through the company’s involvement with this coalition, DCH is working to raise awareness among parents of young drivers about the importance of the graduated driver’s license, and the importance of parents playing an active part in their child's driver education,” officials said.