Rookie Driver In The News Rookie Driver In The News
March 2008 Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect, But It Can Help Teens Become Better Drivers Corinne Fortenbacher Happy Magazine Online.com
February 18, 2008 December 8, 2007 Mother, son create magnet decals to identify rookie teenage drivers By Chad Lerch Lansing State Journal
December 2, 2007
November 28, 2007
November 20, 2007
November 19, 2007
November 10, 2007  October 24, 2007 Click Here to see video clip of 'Rookie Driver' designation taking off 2007 WorldNow and WOODTV
October 24, 2007 September 25, 2007 By Pittsburgh Tribune Review staff and wire reports
September 5,
2007
July 28,
2007
June 21, 2007
June 20, 2007
May 17, 2007 Press ReleasesMedia Pictures and Logo for Download
Goals –
Driven by the vision that new teen driver awareness products need to move from a "should-have" status to a "must-have" status, our goal is to change the face of teen driving awareness products by creating instantly recognized, branded products that teens positively embrace. To improve communication by sharing useful teen driver safety information for parents AND teens on the RookieDriver.Net website.
• Rookie Driver® products launched July
2006
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TV'
Mom
and Teen Son Develop Unique Teen Driver Awareness Products, Launching New Company And Website |
Nearly every parent
is nervous the first time they sit in the passenger seat with their 15
year old at the wheel. This frightening scenario is played out millions
of times annually as nearly 3 million new teen drivers hit the road in
the United States each year with their parents at their side, as they
begin their journey from student driver to a fully licensed driver. It was certainly scary driving with my 15 year-old son, Austin.
Although most parents would like their new teen driver to have some sort
of 'student driver' awareness sticker on the car for added safety, most teens do not like what is currently
available. The other yellow and black Student-Driver or New-Driver stickers on the market
are embarrassing to the teens and are also easily ignored by other drivers
and mistaken as 'just another' bumper sticker, therefore not even read
or noticed. AND, several other products use “Student Driver”
like the Drivers Training vehicles do, which gives a false impression
that a licensed instructor with an additional break is in the car.
It was clear to us that we needed to create a completely distinctive logo that would alert Austin’s new driver status to others in a way that didn’t give the false impression that an instructor was with the new driver….AND do it in a cool way. We went directly to Austin and his friends, enlisting their input to design a name and logo which would not embarrass them about their new driver status.
After many name suggestions, Rookie Driver was chosen as the most universally recognized words describing a new driver...which would also be acceptable to teens, versus the ‘student’ or ‘new’ driver stickers they had seen. AND we wanted to create a very distinctive logo design shape to ensure that not just the words 'Rookie Driver’, but also the logo would be universally and instantly recognized by other drivers….a ‘’symbol’ which automatically makes other drivers aware that there is a new teen driver behind the wheel. So, ‘Rookie Driver®’ was born!
But we wanted to do more than just sell a great new safety product. We developed and launched the RookieDriver.Net website….not just to promote ‘Rookie Driver®’ Products; but to promote other aspects of teen driver safety and awareness. We have multiple links, which are extremely helpful and beneficial to both teens and parents in regards to many aspects of teen driving safety.
‘Rookie Driver®’ products are available in car magnets and removable vinyl stickers. These products are a win-win situation for everyone involved – the other drivers are alerted to the teens “rookie” status, parents feel safer with their teen at the wheel knowing others are aware of their inexperience, and the teens are more accepting of their use. And for convenience of the parents and teens, the products are easily removed when the parents or other experienced drivers are driving.
Who We Are – Our Bios
Corinne
Fortenbacher
I was born and raised in Spring Lake, Michigan. After High School I moved
to California to live with my older brother and attend college. While
living in Modesto, California I worked for a local radio station, and
later worked at the Modesto Bee Newspaper in the advertising department.
I moved back to Michigan in the spring of 1986 and worked for a Fortune
500 furniture company in the Human Resources Department for 17 years.
With the numerous rounds of job eliminations I was participating in, I
lost the enthusiasm for that line of work, so I resigned and teamed up
with my husband, Jeff, as a Director-of-Regional-Support for a national
smoothie and coffee franchise company. For the past 5 years we have been
responsible for marketing and developing new franchises for the state
of Michigan.
We have 3 sons, Aaron 23, Austin 15 and Taylor 13. I learned quickly that working out of our home office offered me the opportunity to become very active in our teen-age sons lives.
When our second son, Austin, received his drivers training permit we felt we needed to develop a teen-friendly way to inform other drivers that a new driver was at the wheel. With my marketing and development experience and background, it seemed like a fun project with great merit AND a project I could share with Austin. I also wanted to share with others the many safety resources available on how to improve safer teen driving, so we created the RookieDriver.Net website. This allows parents and teens access from our website to many other extremely helpful websites, all related to teen driver safety.
We have found
by using the ‘Rookie Driver®’ products that
other drivers are more courteous, cautious and forgiving when teens
are at the wheel. I am no longer a bundle of nerves when Austin is driving
because of the ‘Rookie Driver®’ products
we use on our car…..other drivers know he is learning and have repeatedly
given him extra space in heavy traffic, openings when he needs to change
lanes and an encouraging thumbs up sign while he is driving.
Email: Corinne@RookieDriver.Net
Austin Fortenbacher
Austin was born in Grand Haven, Michigan and has lived here all his life.
He loves sports, basketball and football especially. The Detroit Pistons
are without a doubt his favorite team; in fact he named our Labradoodle
puppy “Chauncey Billups” after one of his favorite Pistons’
players. As far as football teams, he is a devoted University of Michigan
football fan along with an optimistic Detroit Lions fan.
Austin is in 10th grade this year and recently received his driver’s permit. He has a year to drive with us, his parents, before he can receive his “solo” license. During this training period we have found it helpful to alert drivers about his “rookie driver’ status”. He began driving without any alert products and found other drivers to be impatient, rude and reckless around him.
It was Austin who said “we really need a cooler way to tell other drivers that we are new to the road….something better than those yellow and black ‘student driver’ stickers!” Austin has learned a lot about marketing, having spent the last five years listening and participating with my husband and I as we marketed and developed our Michigan franchise territory. His older brother Aaron graduated this year from college with a degree in sales and marketing and he has also been assisting us with this project – this has truly become a “family business”.
Now that Austin
uses the ‘Rookie Driver®’ products he has
not experienced the type of aggressive behaviors from other drivers he
had before, when they didn’t realize he was a new driver. Instead
he has received extra space on the road. It
is obvious that all drivers understand how much pressure a new driver
feels and when they know someone is a new driver, they give them some
extra consideration.
Email: Austin@RookieDriver.Net
Contact Us
Email –
RookieDriver@RookieDriver.Net
Contact: Corinne Fortenbacher
Email –
Corinne@RookieDriver.Net
Contact: Austin Fortenbacher
Email –
Austin@RookieDriver.Net
Phone: 866-960-8640
Website – www.RookieDriver.Net
Spring Lake, Mi 49456
Teen Driver Expert Statistical Resource Links
Use these helpful links for added information and verification of statistics
National Highway
Traffic Safety Association teen crash facts and strategies to reduce crashes
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/airbags/
Countermeasures/pages/Chapt6/6YoungDrivers.htm
NHTSA Traffic
Safety Facts
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/
Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/
Associated%20Files/GraduatedDriver2005.pdf
Department of
Transportation – National Teen Driving statistics
http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/wzsafety/pdfs/
Drivingstats.pdf#search=
%22teen%20driving%20statistics%22
For other helpful teen driving links, please go to our safety links section on our home page.