For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That basic law of physics can lead to life and death situations as teenagers learn to drive. To improve teen driving and help students connect theory with reality, MetLife Auto & Home is making the program Understanding Car Crashes: It’s Basic Physics available free to high schools. This program shows how basic physics concepts such as Newton’s Law, inertia, momentum, and conservation relate to real life—especially the effect of physics on a teen’s automobile in motion.

"Over 7,000 teens lose their lives on America’s roadways each year. MetLife Auto & Home is working diligently to partner with parents and educators to ‘put the brakes’ on these numbers," said Cathy Rein, president and CEO of MetLife Auto & Home. "We’re confident that the knowledge gained in the classroom from this program will result in greater understanding of the importance of safe driving when students get behind the wheel."

Understanding Car Crashes: It’s Basic Physics, which includes a video and teacher/student guide, is available free to high schools by calling 1-800-638-5433 (1-800 MET-LIFE) or by visiting a local MetLife Auto & Home representative. The company also offers free materials to parents and teens, including: "Teaching Your Teen to Drive Without Driving Each Other Crazy," an excellent companion guide for the supervised drives often required by graduated licensing; and a video, "Young Drivers: The High Risk Years."

To further encourage safe teen driving habits, the company also provides financial incentives to its customers:

•A $50 cash reward for each year a teen drives without accident, claim, or violation.

•A $100 US Savings Bond to teens logging 20 drives with a parent or guardian in the co-pilot seat.

MetLife Auto & Home offers these cash award and savings bond programs to its customers in eighteen states: Alabama, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

MetLife has a long tradition as a leading advocate for public safety issues and for improving quality in education. The company has helped foster excellence in education by sponsoring the National Principal of the Year Award for the past decade and by presenting the teacher's voice to policymakers and the public through its annual Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher.

MetLife Auto & Home, an affiliate of MetLife, Inc (NYSE: MET), is one of the nation’s leading personal lines property and casualty companies with more than 2.5 million policies in force. To secure more information about these programs, or about the wide variety of insurance products MetLife Auto & Home provides, contact your local MetLife Auto & Home provider or authorized Independent Agent; visit MetLife’s Web site at www.metlife.com; or call 1-800-422-4272.