Safely with Toyota

Bratislava, September 6, 2023 – The world-famous car manufacturer - Toyota has decided to push the boundaries of safety and help to reduce the number of traffic accidents on Slovak roads. This ambitious goal is set by the unique Safely with Toyota project, which wants to test the limits of young drivers and their cars in crisis situations and prepare them for risky events behind the wheel. The courses are covered by professional instructors from the CENTER OF SAFE DRIVING at the SLOVAKIA RING in Orechova Poton. They offer many years of experience to new drivers, drivers who have had their driver's license for at least 12 months or a few years longer for free. In cooperation with Toyota, they plan to re-train approximately 250 applicants this year. Those who apply first will have the best chance to complete this course and gain invaluable experience.

"Since safety is deeply rooted in our DNA, the decision for the Safely with Toyota project came naturally. Traffic accident statistics have convinced us that it is the group of new drivers who should be given a chance to learn how to handle crisis situations. At the same time, in Toyota we set ourselves the goal of achieving zero traffic accidents as part of our global vision," said Milan Kočka, CEO of Toyota and Lexus Slovakia.

Safer on the training ground

"We are convinced that every novice driver should take the Safely with Toyota course. In our specialized center, we can simulate several crisis situations that can appear in common traffic. It is crucial to try them for the first time in a safe environment and thus verify your driving skills in your own car," declares Peter Pecze, marketing director of SLOVAKIA RING, adding: "In our opinion, this type of course should be mandatory for drivers by law , as it is in many countries of Western Europe. As part of the current development of road accidents, we should focus on the main thing - prevention. This project can be a great start of the whole thing."

The need for the project is also confirmed by Roman Török, the head of the BECEP department at the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic, who states: "We welcome the initiative of the Toyota company to help to reduce the number of accidents on our roads. Being able to practice handling crisis situations behind the wheel in safe, simulated conditions is a benefit for further driving practice."

Why is this course intended for new drivers only?

The answer is in police statistics, which unequivocally say that the most risky drivers are those who have held their driving license for two to five years. Most fatal accidents are caused by drivers in the second year after graduating from driving school.

According to the statistics of the Presidium of the Police Force of Slovakia, a fifth of accidents (20.54%) in 2022 were caused by drivers who had a driving license within 5 years (including) of its issuance.

It is natural that drivers who have not driven enough kilometers are more careful on the roads in the first year after obtaining a driver's license. In addition, driving schools are based more on theoretical knowledge than on practical handling of non-standard situations. Completing a safe driving course will therefore teach novice drivers to anticipate dangers on the roads, manage understeer skidding, emergency braking and evasive maneuvers on hills, learn the limits of themselves and their car, and gain more confidence behind the wheel.

Practical information about the course:

• The course is designed for drivers' license holders who have had it for at least one and at most 5 years (inclusive)
• The course is intended for only one registered person, who will bring their own car and complete the practical part with it
• The maximum capacity of one course is 12 people
• The course takes place in small groups of up to 6 people and lasts 3 hours
• It is divided into a theoretical and a practical part
• Before the ride itself, the participant completes a 60-minute theoretical training
• The practical part lasts 120 minutes, during which the participant completes two modules on the training ground: the Flat module and the Hill module
• Module 1 Flat: emergency braking training on different surfaces, small slalom
• Module 2 Hill: evasive maneuver on a slippery surface, passing a curve down a hill, training for passing a curve with an uphill exit
• The course is free for participants who meet the conditions of the Safely with Toyota project

Registration and competition:

The course is completely FREE, paid for by Toyota, and lasts only 3 hours. Registration form can be found on the website www.bezpecnestoyotou.sk . Each participant will have the opportunity to join a competition and win a rental of Toyota C-HR with a full tank for 2 weeks and other great prizes.

About Toyota:

The history of Toyota has been written since 1937. Today it is one of the largest and most famous car companies in the world. At the same time, its vehicles are considered the most reliable and safest on the market. Toyota cars and trucks are sold in more than 170 countries.

Toyota has safety in its DNA and the road to maximum safety never ends. The company devotes itself in research as well as in the field of innovations and the most modern technologies and does not forget about the all-round education of road users.

For safer roads, Toyota equips every new car with a safety package of the latest generation that is part of the basic equipment.

The Safely with Toyota course goes beyond the safety of the brand's most modern cars, as it focuses on the most important and key part of any safe car - the driver.

CENTER OF SAFE DRIVING

It is the first professional center of its kind in Slovakia. Since 2010, it has retrained thousands of male and female drivers of all age categories. The training ground at the SLOVAKIA RING in Orechova Poton is built according to the Austrian model of training centers and has at its disposal special sliding low-adhesion surfaces, heated irrigation systems, water and light obstacles, automatic speed traps or a hydraulic "tear-off" platform for inducing oversteer.

BECEP

Road Safety Department (abbreviated as BECEP) belongs to the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic. It fulfills the role of the national coordinator for increasing road traffic safety in the Slovak Republic and is responsible for the National Strategy of the Slovak Republic for Road Traffic Safety for the years 2021-2030, by which the Slovak Republic committed to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries in traffic accidents by half of the number of year 2020 and, in the long term, to achieve Vision Zero by 2050. These are common goals of the EU member states. As part of its preventive activities, BECEP organizes and supports various educational, awareness-raising and promotional activities, through which it tries to positively influence the development of traffic accidents on Slovak roads.

Source: Toyota Central Europe - Slovakia