Bill Text: PA HR976 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizing the week of October 17 through 23, 2010, as "National Teen Driver Safety Week" in Pennsylvania.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 43-19)

Status: (Passed) 2010-10-06 - Adopted [HR976 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HR976-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 4434
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 976 Session of2010
INTRODUCED BY WATSON, CLYMER, DiGIROLAMO, FARRY, O'NEILL, PETRI, QUINN, ADOLPH, BEYER, BOBACK, BOYD, BRENNAN, BROWN, DALEY, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, GABLER, GEIST, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, HAHN, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, KILLION, KORTZ, KOTIK, LONGIETTI, MAJOR, MARKOSEK, MARSHALL, MATZIE, McILVAINE SMITH, MILLARD, MOUL, MURT, OBERLANDER, PALLONE, PASHINSKI, PAYNE, PICKETT, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROCK, ROSS, SAINATO, SANTONI, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SONNEY, SWANGER, TOEPEL, TRUE, GROVE AND KNOWLES, OCTOBER 5, 2010
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, OCTOBER 5, 2010
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the week of October 17 through 23, 2010, as
"National Teen Driver Safety Week" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death
for adolescents and young adults in the United States, and many
of these deaths are preventable; and
WHEREAS, Almost 5,900 drivers between 15 and 20 years of age
were involved in fatal crashes in 2008 throughout the United
States; and
WHEREAS, The fatality rate in the United States for drivers
between 16 and 19 years of age, based on miles driven, is four
times the fatality rate for drivers between 25 and 69 years of
age; and
WHEREAS, The majority of teen driver crashes in the United
States are due to driver error, making mistakes due to
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inexperience and distractions, and 15% of the crashes are due to
drunk driving; and
WHEREAS, Roughly two-thirds of teenagers killed in motor
vehicle accidents in the United States each year did not use
seatbelts; and
WHEREAS, Approximately 63% of teen passenger deaths in the
United States occur while other teenagers are driving; and
WHEREAS, The presence of teen passengers increases the crash
risk of unsupervised teen drivers, and this risk increases with
the number of teen passengers; and
WHEREAS, The crash risk is particularly high during the first
year that teenagers are eligible to drive; and
WHEREAS, In Pennsylvania, in 2008, teens 16 to 20 years of
age were involved in 30,555 traffic crashes with 34.9% of those
crashes involving a single vehicle running off the road and
hitting a fixed object, such as a tree, guardrail, etc; and
WHEREAS, Young drivers are the least experienced, and
therefore traffic crashes involving drivers 16 to 20 years of
age are most often the result of driver error, such as speed,
distraction and failure to observe driving regulations and
conditions; and
WHEREAS, It is necessary to explore effective ways to reduce
the crash risk for young drivers by focusing research and
outreach efforts on areas of teen driving that show the most
promise for improving safety; and
WHEREAS, The National Teen Driver Survey, developed with
input from teenagers and administered by The Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia, demonstrates a nationwide need to increase
overall awareness about the safe use of electronic handheld
devices, the risks of nighttime and fatigued driving, the
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importance of consistent seatbelt use and the practice of
gradually increasing driver privileges over time as a young
driver gains more experience under supervised conditions; and
WHEREAS, In 2008, 1,233 crash fatalities involving a teen
driver occurred in the fall, when teenagers in the first months
of the school year were faced with many decisions involving
driving, including whether to drive with peer passengers and
other distractions; and
WHEREAS, Recognizing the third week of October as "National
Teen Driver Safety Week" is expected to increase awareness of
these important issues among teenagers and adults in this
Commonwealth, as additional research is conducted to develop and
test effective interventions to boost teen driver safety;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
week of October 17 through 23, 2010, as "National Teen Driver
Safety Week" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives:
(1) support the goals and ideas of "National Teen Driver
Safety Week"; and
(2) encourage the people of Pennsylvania to observe the
week with appropriate activities that promote the practice of
safe driving among licensed teen drivers in this
Commonwealth.
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