TORONTO, ONTARIO – November 6, 2012 – The Toyota Canada Inc. supported kartSTART (www.kartSTART.ca) program announced today that 133 youth took part in the 2012 kartSTART programs in Ontario and Quebec in 2012.
“I couldn’t be happier with the growth the kartSTART program has seen this year,” kartSTART administrator Russ Bond said. “The reaction from the kids that drive a motorized vehicle on their own for the first time is something that never gets old – I think I enjoy it as much as the parents.”
Diana Robertson attended one of the Ontario kartSTART programs at Sunset Speedway along with her two kids, echoed the reaction from all the parents whose kids that took part in the 2012 program. “Thanks for your great vision of knowing how to introduce our kids to the world of driving safely, the kids really enjoyed themselves…so did I.”
The kartSTART program originally started in 2011 as an Ontario based program and expanded to Quebec in 2012. The Quebec events were held at Autodrome St. Eustache and the attendance was impressive for the two day event, 53 in total. The Ontario events were held at Sunset Speedway with 80 participants. Many participants in both markets had never driven any motorized vehicle and all left with better understanding of control and safety features.
Chief Instructor Mike Goodyear was on hand for all events and commented that some parents said that they were “very nervous about sending their kids to regular driving school because they had never navigated anything but a bicycle. One parent, after watching his son’s progress in the karts during his driving sessions, where he could visually see him improving, he now had a better feeling. When we hear parents say that, we know we have done our job.”
It wasn’t only the driving sessions in 2012 that were eye openers for the kartSTART participants. “The Toyota Star Safety system demonstration with each participant really profiles the safety in every Toyota vehicle,” Goodyear said. “The reaction from the parents during the ABS and Smart Stop demonstrations was amazing – experiencing the capability of these vehicles was key.”
“Toyota is proud to work with kartSTART to build consumer awareness of safe driving technologies and to provide a fun and engaging way to learn safe driving techniques,” said Sandy Di Felice, Director, Toyota Canada. “We’re pleased that the program is expanding to engage more Canadians.”
For more information on kartSTART, please visit www.kartSTART.ca or email info@kartstart.ca
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