National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) is conducted annually during the third week of October in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was established by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 2007.

Background

Motor vehicle crashes remain the primary cause of death for adolescents. Teen drivers (ages 16 to 19) are involved in fatal crashes at four times the rate of adult drivers (ages 25 to 69). Each year, more than 5,000 teens are killed in motor vehicle crashes.

History

After a series of tragic crashes involving Pennsylvania high school students, Representatives

Charlie Dent Charles Wieder Dent (born May 24, 1960) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2005 to 2018. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Dent worked in a variety of occupations ...

(R- PA) and Senator

Bob Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Penn ...

(D- PA) sponsored over 50 co-sponsors to introduce the resolution creating National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW). The initiative was supported by the traffic safety experts at the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The ...

(CHOP) and

State Farm Insurance Companies State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...

. A national survey conducted in 2007 by State Farm and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia provided some facts into the teen driving environment, including that while teens are aware of some driving dangers (such as drinking and driving), they may not realize the risks of other distractions and behaviors, such as fatigued driving, speeding, cell phone use, and driving with multiple teen passengers. The majority of crashes involving young drivers are caused by inexperience and driver error. In Canada, Parachute (a national Canadian charity focused on Injury Prevention) conducts an annual campaign for NTDSW with the support of State Farm.

Activities

Support for National Teen Driver Safety Week has grown, and the media coverage for this initiative has been overwhelming. Celebrities, including singer/songwriter

Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo m ...

, racecar driver

Zach Veach Zachary E. Veach (born December 9, 1994) is an American auto racing driver who competes full time in the IMSA SportsCar Championship GT3 class for Vasser Sullivan. Veach was named to CNN's list of "Intriguing People" in May 2010, is the national ...

and television personality Oprah Winfrey, have formally endorsed the week, and U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood “Distracted driving epidemic: U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood calls issue a ‘personal crusade’”.
Seacoast Online. Retrieved October 26, 2010. acknowledged distracted driving as an epidemic, calling for Americans to turn off their phones while driving, prior to the week’s kickoff in 2010. State and local officials across the country have also implemented programs and campaigns as part of National Teen Driver Safety Week.

References

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External links

Teen Driver Source by Children's Hospital of PhiladelphiaDriver Distraction: A Perennial but Preventable Public Health Threat to Adolescents
Driver's education Awareness weeks in the United States