Human Behavior

The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that human factors cause or contribute to more than 90 percent of serious crashes. In the pre-crash stage, drivers can try to avoid crashes by practicing safe driving. In the crash and post-crash phases, drivers can help reduce the risk of injury by always properly using safety equipment such as safety belts. Ford Motor Company provides information, educational programs and advanced technologies to assist in promoting safe driving practices.

For example, numerous studies show that hands-free multimedia devices offer safety benefits compared to hand-held devices. The benefits are seen in driving performance as well as object and event detection. Ford's new SYNC™ technology, powered by Microsoft, provides a way for drivers to use cell phones and MP3 players more safely, because they can do so while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. Also, SYNC will be offered with all-new occupant safety and vehicle diagnostic communications capabilities when it appears on 2009 model year products in late 2008. SYNC is described in depth in a case study.

In Europe, Ford now offers the FordConvers+ Human Machine Interface System, available on the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy. This system allows the driver to control multimedia functions such as cell phones, the navigation system and the radio via a five-way toggle on the steering wheel. A display screen is located on the instrument panel cluster. This combination of steering wheel toggle and cluster operation enables the driver to control multimedia devices with their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Another FordConvers+ feature is the advanced voice control system, which reduces driver distraction. This system enables voice activation of multimedia functions, and allows the driver to enter city and street names in the navigation system via voice, rather than through a keypad on the touch screen.

Driving Skills for Life, Ford's U.S.-based national education program for teens, demonstrates our continued commitment to educating young drivers about safer driving. This program earned Ford the 2007 Traffic Safety Achievement Award for Community Service from the World Traffic Safety Symposium at the 2007 New York Auto Show. Driving Skills for Life provides outstanding learning tools, including a DVD, printed materials and a redesigned Web site, to help young drivers improve their ability behind the wheel. In addition, the program provides information about eco-driving, car care tips and information for mature drivers.

Most recently, Ford partnered with the state of Illinois to launch a statewide effort – modeled on Driving Skills for Life – designed to reduce teen crashes and fatalities. Called Operation Teen Safe Driving, this campaign is the first of its kind and gets high school students directly involved by engaging them in a competition to design community-based driving safety programs targeted at their peers. More than 200 high schools in Illinois have signed up to participate in the program.

In another effort to promote safe practices, Ford has created – in partnership with Meharry Medical College – See Me Safe, a child passenger safety seat initiative aimed at reducing child injury, disability and death due to traffic accidents. See Me Safe is an educational program designed to reach families and the medical community. The program acknowledges the important role that health care providers play in educating parents about child passenger safety. Toward that end, See Me Safe is working to establish a supportive network of physicians, nurses, medical interns and pediatric trauma response teams, through which parents can learn about the proper use of safety restraints for their children.

Finally, in Brazil, Ford sponsored a Children's Day in October 2007 at Ford dealerships across the country. As part of this event, the dealerships distributed 63,000 copies of our newly released vehicle and traffic education DVD featuring the puppet characters "dos Bichos da Ford." The DVD, which is geared toward children under ten years of age, features information on topics such as the significance of and requirements for receiving a license to drive; the benefits and obligation of using safety belts; the rules and benefits of pedestrian lanes; and the benefits of speed limits. This DVD is now available to any customer in Brazil through Ford dealership vehicle service centers.