Young Drivers of Canada

Young Drivers of Canada is a Canadian driving school franchise headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario. In 2017 Young Drivers is the largest driving training organization in Canada, with 132 locations in six provinces across Canada. Over a million students have graduated from its driver education programs.

The company's driving recommendations are often quoted in news stories about safe driving and the rules of the road. Young Drivers of Canada has three core product offerings: The novice Young Driver education program, the "COLLISIONfree!" driver improvement course and CogniFit Brain Training.

Young Drivers of Canada was established by Heinz Naumann in 1970. In 1975, Peter Christianson, a race car driver whose father died in a car accident at a young age, joined the organization. Christianson began to develop methods that have become the basis of driver's education courses offered today by Young Drivers of Canada.

In 1979, Young Drivers of Canada held their first rally to promote safe driving. In the same year, Young Drivers instructors began using daytime running lights during their lessons to increase visibility to other drivers and reduce the risk of collisions.

In 1984, Christianson was appointed President of Young Drivers of Canada and in 1989 Heinz Naumann retired and sold his portion of Young Drivers. In 1987, The company expanded to the United States, and in 1990 Young Drivers of Canada Finland, Young Drivers Your License to Survive was established.

In 1995, Young Drivers of Canada introduced its Collisionfree!™ program, designed to aid experienced driver in developing proactive and reactive driving habits.

Young Drivers of Canada was directly involved in developing the structure of Ontario's graduated licensing program in Ontario, Canada. In 1997, with input from Peter Christianson, Young Drivers of Canada was instrumental in designing the G2 driving license test requirements, the final test required by students to be licensed in Ontario.

The U.S. division expanded until 1999 when the Ford Motor Company purchased Young Drivers of Canada. Ford focused development on the Canadian operations, and the U.S. division was eventually closed.

In 2003, Young Drivers of Canada introduced its CogniFit® program. The program trains students to use their cognitive abilities to handle issues with reaction time and divided attention. Later, the course was update to include a demonstration of the perils of texting and driving.

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