DETROIT (March 31, 2008) — For its advocacy reporting on elderly drivers, AutoWeek magazine has been awarded the Traffic Safety Achievement Award by the 2008 World Traffic Safety Symposium.
The magazine, a sister publication of Tire Business published by Crain Communications Inc., featured the story, “What to Do About Elderly Drivers,” in its April 2, 2007, issue. It is AutoWeek's second consecutive Traffic Safety Achievement Award; last year it won for “Back to School—Teenage Driving: Failing Our Children,” which ran in its Sept. 4, 2006, issue.
Both of the award-winning reports, written by AutoWeek Senior Editor Kevin Wilson, demonstrate the magazine's dedication to safe driving and its initiatives to bring America's devastating highway death tolls to the forefront, according to the symposium.
The World Traffic Safety Symposium is held in conjunction with the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. The panel of judges includes the U.S. Department of Transportation; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); AAA Foundation for Safety; New York Police Department; and other traffic safety experts.
“The goal is to open dialogue between manufacturers, insurance companies, the medical and legislative communities, as well as members of the general public,” Mr. Wilson said. “The more people are aware of the seriousness of the problems, the more people will choose to be educated and help educate others in traffic safety.”
Due to the response from the teen driving issue and the need for additional education, AutoWeek launched a Teen Driving Safety Summit in partnership with Chrysler L.L.C.'s Dodge brand. The inaugural event was held in Rochester, Mich., in August, and included more than 250 attendees, including parents, teens, educators from advanced teen driving schools, representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and members of the automotive and insurance industries.