HOUSTON – Bridgestone debuted its free Teens Drive Smart driving experience Sunday, Aug. 24, at NRG Stadium, offering classroom instruction and hands-on exercises to teach Houston-area teens defensive driving and safer decision-making behind the wheel.
The Houston stop was the second of three U.S. events. The first was held this June in Nashville, Tenn., and the final event is set for September in Akron, Ohio.
Recommended Videos
The program features four modules: vehicle dynamics, a lane-change exercise, a distracted-driving simulation and a car-care clinic covering basic vehicle maintenance.
Professional drivers from Real Time rode with participants during skid and emergency-maneuver drills to demonstrate how to recover control in realistic situations, company officials said.
“We execute four different modules,” Jonathon Bruhin, manager of consumer sales training for Bridgestone Americas, said. “Kids get a very active look at how to stay safer on the roads, mitigate distracted driving, handle cars in an emergency and recover control.”
Launched in 2003, Teens Drive Smart has trained more than 30,000 teens nationwide, Bridgestone said.
The company cited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data from 2019 to 2023 and an analysis by AAA showing more people are killed in crashes involving teen drivers in Texas than in any other state — a statistic Bridgestone said helped motivate the Houston stop.
The free event was open to participants ages 15 to 21 who held a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit; organizers said those with at least 30 hours of driving experience would benefit most. Bridgestone encouraged interested teens to register on its website.
The free event was open to participants ages 15 to 21 who held a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit; organizers said those with at least 30 hours of driving experience would benefit most.
If you’ll like to learn more about Bridgestone, check out their website here.