Cooper Tire Volunteers to Conduct Tire Safety Checks May 8-24 at High Schools for National Tire Safety Week

Business Wire 7-May-2019 3:00 PM

Effort is part of Cooper's Tread Wisely™ Global Tire and Vehicle Safety Initiative for Young Drivers

As part of its Tread Wisely™ program, which is a global tire and vehicle safety initiative aimed at young drivers, dozens of employee volunteers from Cooper Tire & Rubber Company will descend on high schools this month in three communities where the company operates major facilities: Findlay, Ohio; Texarkana, Arkansas and Tupelo, Mississippi. Their mission: to conduct three-point tire safety checks within the parking areas of the schools, measuring the inflation pressure, tread depth and checking the overall condition of the tires on the cars of students, teachers and administrators. The Cooper experts will conduct the safety checks and leave each participating driver with a written assessment of the health of their tires as well as additional tire safety tips and information from the Tread Wisely program.

The effort will begin in advance of National Tire Safety Week, a program of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA), which runs May 20 through Memorial Day, May 27. This year's USTMA National Tire Safety Week theme and hashtag is #knowyourroll. The initiative takes place just as the summer driving season kicks off, sending teens out on the road more frequently as they travel to sports practices, summer jobs, camp experiences and to meet up with friends.

"Cooper is committed to safety as a priority," said Bill Geaman, the company's Manager of Consumer Relations. "Tires are the only thing connecting vehicles to the road, and that's why it is critical for drivers—especially those new to the road—to understand how important tire safety is and to know how to conduct their own tire safety checks at least once a month. Cooper has hundreds of dedicated tire experts who serve as employee volunteers year-round in our communities around the globe to share tire safety information with young drivers. We want everyone to have a great summer and enjoy all that the season has to offer, and our Cooper volunteers are proud to help make this happen by sharing their tire safety knowledge. We design and produce great tires, and we give back to our communities by helping drivers be safer on the road any time of year, but especially during the busy summer travel season," he added.

In all, it is expected approximately 690 vehicles, or 2,760 tires, will be checked by the Cooper volunteers at three schools on the following schedule, which begins tomorrow.

• May 8 from 8:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tupelo High School, 4125 Golden Wave Drive, in Tupelo, Mississippi
• May 16 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Findlay High School, 1200 Broad Ave., in Findlay, Ohio
• May 24 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Arkansas High School, 1500 Jefferson Ave., in Texarkana, Arkansas

Schools not slated this year for tire safety checks by Cooper volunteers may share critical tire safety information with students by encouraging them to download the Tread Wisely mobile app. Videos showing how to check inflation pressure, tread depth and overall condition of tires – as well as videos about other important driving safety topics – are available on the free app, which also allows users to set reminders to perform tire safety checks, sending push notifications directly to their phones each month. The Tread Wisely app is available for download from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). To learn more about Tread Wisely, visit www.treadwisely.org.

About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE:CTB) is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car, light truck, medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper's headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations within its family of companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

About USTMA

The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) is the national trade association for tire manufacturers that produce tires in the U.S. Our 12 member companies operate 56 tire-related manufacturing facilities in 17 states and generate over $27 billion in annual sales. We directly support more than a quarter million tire manufacturing U.S. jobs – totaling almost $20 billion in wages. USTMA advances a sustainable tire manufacturing industry through thought leadership and a commitment to science-based public policy advocacy. USTMA members are committed to continuous improvement of the performance of our products, worker and consumer safety and environmental stewardship.

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