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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY WATSON, MARKOSEK, GEIST, HARPER, QUINN, BOYD, BROOKS, ADOLPH, BELFANTI, BEYER, BISHOP, CALTAGIRONE, CIVERA, CLYMER, COHEN, CONKLIN, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, DeLUCA, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, ELLIS, J. EVANS, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, FRANKEL, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRELL, GRUCELA, HARHART, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, KAUFFMAN, M. KELLER, KORTZ, KULA, LONGIETTI, MAJOR, MARSICO, McCALL, MELIO, MENSCH, MILLARD, MILNE, MOUL, MURT, MUSTIO, MYERS, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PAYNE, PICKETT, RAPP, READSHAW, ROCK, ROSS, SAINATO, SANTONI, SIPTROTH, SOLOBAY, SWANGER, TRUE, VEREB, VULAKOVICH, WAGNER, WATERS AND YOUNGBLOOD, OCTOBER 1, 2009 |
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| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, OCTOBER 1, 2009 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Recognizing the week of October 18 through 24, 2009, as |
2 | "National Teen Driving Safety Week" in Pennsylvania. |
3 | WHEREAS, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death |
4 | for adolescents and young adults in the United States, and many |
5 | of these deaths are preventable; and |
6 | WHEREAS, Almost 5,900 drivers between 15 and 20 years of age |
7 | were involved in fatal crashes in 2008 throughout the United |
8 | States; and |
9 | WHEREAS, The fatality rate in the United States for drivers |
10 | between 16 and 19 years of age, based on miles driven, is four |
11 | times the fatality rate for drivers between 25 and 69 years of |
12 | age; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, The majority of teen driver crashes in the United |
2 | States are due to driver error and speeding, and 15% of the |
3 | crashes are due to drunk driving; and |
4 | WHEREAS, Roughly two-thirds of teenagers killed in motor |
5 | vehicle accidents in the United States each year did not use |
6 | seatbelts; and |
7 | WHEREAS, Approximately 63% of teen passenger deaths in the |
8 | United States occur while other teenagers are driving; and |
9 | WHEREAS, In Pennsylvania, in 2008, teens 16 to 20 years of |
10 | age were involved in 30,555 traffic crashes with 34.9% of those |
11 | crashes involving a single vehicle running off the road and |
12 | hitting a fixed object, such as a tree, guardrail, etc; and |
13 | WHEREAS, Young drivers are the least experienced, and |
14 | therefore traffic crashes involving drivers 16 to 20 years of |
15 | age are most often the result of driver error, such as speed, |
16 | distraction and failure to observe driving regulations and |
17 | conditions; and |
18 | WHEREAS, It is necessary to explore effective ways to reduce |
19 | the crash risk for young drivers by focusing research and |
20 | outreach efforts on areas of teen driving that show the most |
21 | promise for improving safety; and |
22 | WHEREAS, The National Teen Driver Survey, developed with |
23 | input from teenagers and administered by The Children's Hospital |
24 | of Philadelphia, demonstrates a nationwide need to increase |
25 | overall awareness about the safe use of electronic handheld |
26 | devices, the risks of nighttime and fatigued driving, the |
27 | importance of consistent seatbelt use and the practice of |
28 | gradually increasing driver privileges over time as a young |
29 | driver gains more experience under supervised conditions; and |
30 | WHEREAS, In 2008, 1,233 crash fatalities involving a teen |
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1 | driver occurred in the fall, when teenagers in the first months |
2 | of the school year were faced with many decisions involving |
3 | driving, including whether to drive with peer passengers and |
4 | other distractions; and |
5 | WHEREAS, Recognizing the third week of October as "National |
6 | Teen Driving Safety Week" is expected to increase awareness of |
7 | these important issues among teenagers and adults in this |
8 | Commonwealth, as additional research is conducted to develop and |
9 | test effective interventions to boost teen driver safety; |
10 | therefore be it |
11 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the |
12 | week of October 18 through 24, 2009, as "National Teen Driving |
13 | Safety Week" in Pennsylvania; and be it further |
14 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives: |
15 | (1) support the goals and ideas of "National Teen |
16 | Driving Safety Week"; and |
17 | (2) encourage the people of Pennsylvania to observe the |
18 | week with appropriate activities that promote the practice of |
19 | safe driving among licensed teen drivers in this |
20 | Commonwealth. |
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