U-Haul International, Inc., a leading advocate in the fight against distracted driving, has formed a new partnership with the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) to promote safe trailering at the Teen Safe Driving Summit in Alexandria, Va.
The Summit will be held Oct. 17-20 at the Hilton Old Town Alexandria at 1767 King St.
The partnership will afford U-Haul the chance to educate some of the nation’s brightest and most proactive youths as well as conduct an interactive laboratory to offer teenagers a hands-on experience in the U-Haul “safe trailering rodeo.”
More than 100 high school students and advisors will attend the event, including a team from Portland, Maine, that U-Haul has volunteered to sponsor. At least 20 states will be represented. All of the students are recognized leaders in their schools and communities.
“NOYS is delighted to partner with U-Haul for the Teen Safe Driving Summit,” said Anita Boles, NOYS CEO. “U-Haul is a leader in the field of traffic safety, creating interactive experiences to educate teens about safe trailering, an issue of extreme importance to youth as they head off to college. The education provided by U-Haul to our Summit participants will be shared through their local educational outreach, helping to make our roads safer and addressing the number one killer of teens in the U.S.: car crashes.”
Formerly the Teen Distracted Driving Prevention Summit, the Teen Safe Driving Summit equips youths with the tools to engage their peers, parents, community members and policymakers about teen distracted driving. Those who attend develop strategies for implementing programs and educational initiatives in their communities while becoming the next generation of teen safe driving advocates.
Part of that education now includes the proper steps for safe trailering from the industry leader in do-it-yourself moving and self-storage. Shannon Papa, U-Haul Trailer Program Manager, will provide safe trailering instruction at the conference prior to the outdoor interactive lab on Oct. 18. On Oct. 19, U-Haul will distribute educational materials at its Summit table and participate in a “Sharing the Road” discussion panel. U-Haul Director of Internal Communications Tom Prefling will be part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s jobs panel on Oct. 20.
Students will learn safe trailering, including hooking up, loading and backing up a U-Haul trailer at the NOYS Summit in Virginia.
“It’s very common for young drivers to have their first towing experience when they rent U-Haul trailers to move to college,” Papa said. “This is an exciting opportunity to educate and expose these students to trailer safety and towing techniques. The hands-on portion of our presentation will focus on hooking up, loading properly and backing up a trailer. With helpful tips, students will be able to put what they’ve learned into action by backing up a U-Haul trailer on our traffic cone course.”
Papa noted that partnering with NOYS and generating awareness of U-Haul educational materials on safe trailering and distracted driving further contribute to the Company’s community outreach initiatives. “Promoting safe towing practices is helpful to anybody – but particularly the new driver,” she added.
Earlier this year, U-Haul partnered with Project Yellow Light, a Richmond, Va.-based scholarship competition that rewards high school and college students whose video submissions most effectively promote the perils of texting behind the wheel and the need for safe driving among their peers.
Please visit https://noys.org for more information on the Teen Safe Driving Summit. To learn more about U-Haul and its role in the community, visit http://myuhaulstory.com.
