Cooper Tire Encourages Young Drivers to Focus on Tire Safety during National Teen Driver Safety Week, October 15-21

While often overlooked by young drivers, tires are the only thing connecting vehicles to the road. As such, they are critical to driver and vehicle safety. That’s why Cooper Tire, through its Tread Wisely™ program, is encouraging young drivers to learn how to care for their tires during National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW), Oct. 15-21. By downloading the free Tread Wisely mobile app, teens can access tire and vehicle safety information, how-to videos and a unique “I Got There” feature that helps remind young drivers to tell loved ones when they’ve made it safely to their destination.

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Race car driver and “The Bachelor” star Arie Luyendyk, Jr. hosts a series of how-to videos for young drivers available on Cooper Tire’s Tread Wisely app. The app, which is part of Cooper’s larger Tread Wisely tire and vehicle safety campaign, provides educational and entertaining content to teach teens how to care for their tires and be safer on the road. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Tread Wisely app is available for download from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). It offers educational information provided in a format teens want to use, putting useful tire safety tips directly into their hands before and after driving—not during. Features of the app include:

• A series of easy how-to videos featuring race car driver and ABC’s “The Bachelor” star Arie Luyendyk, Jr. on topics including how to change a flat tire, what to do if involved in an accident, what to do if pulled over by law enforcement, and more.
• Reminders to complete monthly safety checks including proper tire inflation pressure, tread depth and overall tire condition.
• A unique “I Got There” feature that allows young drivers to set a reminder to contact their parents or friends once they’ve arrived at their destination, and with just a couple of touches, sends a pre-written text to any number of recipients, letting loved ones know they have made it safely.
• Rewards for performing regular safety checks and learning about vehicle safety. Users can earn points by completing various tasks within the app and can attain ever-increasing ranks for the chance to win prizes such as gift cards that can be redeemed for gasoline, food or other items. Certain actions, such as sharing the app with family, friends and others, will also earn special badges for users.

“Young drivers can feel invincible behind the wheel, which is one reason we developed the Tread Wisely program, which approaches driver and vehicle safety from the tires up. We want teen drivers to understand that what they know about tires and how they treat them is important for their safety,” said Anne Roman, Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs. “The Tread Wisely app, a key component of the program, provides educational content and it is fun, offering points and prizes. Importantly, the content on the app is shareable, so young drivers can help those they know and love be safer on the road too.”

For more about the Tread Wisely app, tire safety tips for young drivers and information about the Tread Wisely program, visit www.treadwisely.org.

About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper's headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations within its family of companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

About Tread Wisely

The Tread Wisely app is part of a larger tire and vehicle safety program for young drivers developed in 2016 when Cooper adopted this as a signature philanthropy cause and selected the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) as a partner in its efforts to educate and motivate young people to take necessary precautions and important safety measures when it comes to their tires and driving. Cooper and NOYS have teamed up to share life-saving messages about tire safety through Tread Wisely social media channels, the web, special youth-directed safety events, and on the ground in communities across the United States. Hundreds of Cooper employees have signed up to serve year-round as Tread Wisely volunteers, demonstrating tire safety in schools, at sporting events, churches and other venues, reaching young drivers in the communities where they live and work.

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