1Recognizing the week of October 20 through 26, 2013, as
2"National Teen Driver Safety Week" in Pennsylvania.

3WHEREAS, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death
4for adolescents and young adults in the United States, and many
5of these deaths are preventable; and

6WHEREAS, Four thousand three hundred forty-seven drivers
7between 15 and 20 years of age were involved in fatal crashes in
82011 throughout the United States; and

9WHEREAS, The crash rate in the United States for teen
10drivers, based on miles driven, is nearly three times the crash
11rate for drivers 20 years of age and over; and

12WHEREAS, The majority of teen driver crashes in the United
13States are due to a critical driver error, with three common

1errors accounting for nearly half of all serious crashes:
2driving too fast for road conditions, being distracted and
3failing to detect a hazard, and 24% of the fatal teen crashes
4are due to drunk driving; and

5WHEREAS, Roughly two-thirds of teenagers killed in motor
6vehicle accidents in the United States each year did not use
7seat belts; and

8WHEREAS, Approximately 63% of teen passenger deaths in the
9United States occur while other teenagers are driving; and

10WHEREAS, The presence of teen passengers increases the crash
11risk of unsupervised teen drivers, and this risk increases with
12the number of teen passengers; and

13WHEREAS, The crash risk is particularly high during the first
14year that teenagers are eligible to drive; and

15WHEREAS, In Pennsylvania, in 2011, there were 98 teen driver
16fatalities and there were 29 deaths among 16-year-old drivers,
17ten more than in 2010. In 2011 in Pennsylvania, drivers under 21
18years of age were involved in 25,202 traffic crashes with 32.9%
19of those crashes involving a single vehicle running off the road
20and hitting a fixed object, such as a tree or guardrail; and

21WHEREAS, Young drivers are the least experienced, and
22therefore traffic crashes involving drivers 16 to 19 years of
23age are most often the result of a critical driver error, such
24as speed, distraction and failure to detect a hazard; and

25WHEREAS, It is necessary to explore effective ways to reduce
26the crash risk for young drivers by focusing research and
27outreach efforts on areas of teen driving that show the most
28promise for improving safety; and

29WHEREAS, The National Teen Driver Survey, developed with
30input from teenagers and administered by The Children's Hospital

1of Philadelphia, demonstrates a nationwide need to increase
2overall awareness about the safe use of electronic handheld
3devices, the risks of nighttime and fatigued driving, the
4importance of consistent seat belt use and the practice of
5gradually increasing driver privileges over time as a young
6driver gains more experience under supervised conditions; and

7WHEREAS, Nationally in 2009, 858 crash fatalities involving a
8teen driver occurred in the fall, when teenagers in the first
9months of the school year were faced with many decisions
10involving driving, including whether to drive with peer
11passengers and other distractions; and

12WHEREAS, Recognizing the third week of October as National
13Teen Driver Safety Week is expected to increase awareness of
14these important issues among teenagers and adults in this
15Commonwealth, as additional research is conducted to develop and
16test effective interventions to boost teen driver safety;
17therefore be it

18RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
19week of October 20 through 26, 2013, as National Teen Driver
20Safety Week in Pennsylvania; and be it further

21RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives:

22(1) support the goals and ideals of "National Teen
23Driver Safety Week," specifically to promote the theme of "It
24Takes Two: Shared Expectations for Teens and Parents for
25Driving"; and

26(2) encourage both teens and parents of teens in this
27Commonwealth to set clear expectations for each: for teens,
28to expect and advocate for support in driving from a trusted
29adult, and for parents, to expect their teens to take an
30active role in learning to drive and in following safety

1rules when driving on their own.