Congress designates Oct. 15-20 as National Teen Driver Safety Week

October 11, 2007

To increase communication among teenagers, their parents and community leaders about ways to prevent traffic crashes—the leading cause of death for young people—Congress recently designated Oct. 15-20 (the third week in October) as National Teen Driver Safety Week.

Last year, 99 teens died in Wisconsin traffic crashes, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol Bureau of Transportation Safety.

“Although teenagers constitute about 5 percent of licensed drivers in Wisconsin, they account for nearly 13 percent of the drivers involved in crashes, “says Dennis Hughes, chief of safety programs for the State Patrol Bureau of Transportation Safety. “In theory, teenagers should not be prone to crashes because their sight, hearing and reaction time are in their prime. But teens are more likely to be involved in crashes because they are less experienced drivers and have a tendency to speed, drive aggressively, drive while distracted, and take other dangerous risks. Tragically, young people also are killed in traffic crashes at far higher rates than any other age group because they are the least likely to buckle up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that two-thirds of teenagers killed in crashes were not wearing safety belts.”

For more information about National Teen Driver Safety Week, visit the Web site at: http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=86589

For more information, contact:
Dennis Hughes
(608) 267-9075, dennis.hughes@dot.state.wi.us