Bill Text: CA SCR60 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: California Teen Safe Driving Week.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-04-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 10, Statutes of 2012. [SCR60 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SCR60-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 60 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 10
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 4, 2012
ADOPTED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 2, 2012
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
JANUARY 18, 2012
Relative to California Teen Safe Driving Week.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 60, DeSaulnier. California Teen Safe Driving Week.
This measure would declare the first week of April 2012 and that
week every year thereafter as "California Teen Safe Driving Week" to
correspond with the National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The
state would observe the week with appropriate activities that promote
the practice of safe driving among teenage drivers.
WHEREAS, Law enforcement and other first responders, teachers,
parents, and friends are all deeply impacted by the loss of teens
from motor vehicle crashes on California's roadways; and
WHEREAS, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for
teens in the United States accounting for more than one in three
deaths; and
WHEREAS, Per mile driven, teen drivers 16 to 19 years of age are
four times more likely to crash than older drivers; and
WHEREAS, In 2009, more than 3,000 teens in the United States 15 to
19 years of age were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in
emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes;
and
WHEREAS, Seventy-seven percent of the 16-year-old drivers killed
in motor vehicle crashes in California were at fault; and
WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of all fatal teen collisions are
caused by reckless and distracted driving and about 25 percent of the
fatalities involve alcohol and drugs; and
WHEREAS, Despite the fact that California has the highest rate of
seatbelt usage in the nation, 37 percent of the 16-year-old
passengers who died in motor vehicle crashes in California were not
wearing seatbelts; and
WHEREAS, Approximately two-thirds of the deaths of teen passengers
13 to 19 years of age occur when other teens are driving; and
WHEREAS, One in three teen drivers are involved in motor vehicle
crashes during their first year of driving; and
WHEREAS, There is no in-car driver training in California's high
schools and although driver's education is required in California's
public school curriculum, only about one-third of the high schools
actually offer it due to budget and staff limitations; and
WHEREAS, A 16-year-old soccer player has had about 1,500 hours of
coached soccer practice, but only 50 hours of driving practice before
getting his or her license; and
WHEREAS, A manicurist is required to have 400 supervised hours of
training in order to get a license, but a teen driver needs only six
hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience supervised by a
professional; and
WHEREAS, It is necessary to raise awareness; reach teens, parents,
and teachers; and influence change in risky driving behavior in
order to reduce the number of teens killed on California's roadways
each year; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the first week of April 2012, and that week
every year thereafter, be declared "California Teen Safe Driving Week"
to correspond with the National Distracted Driving Awareness Month;
and be it further
Resolved, That with the help of law enforcement organizations,
teachers, parents, students, and the Impact Teen Drivers program, a
nonprofit organization aimed at stopping reckless and distracted teen
driving, the State of California will observe the first week of
April 2012 and that week every year thereafter, with appropriate
activities that promote the practice of safe driving among teen
drivers.
