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Teen Summit to Combat Teen Driving Deaths and Save Lives

IRVING, Texas--Sept. 21, 2006--Some of the area's best teen leaders will join The Allstate Foundation and the Center for Safe Communities and Schools on Friday, September 22nd from 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, for the Keep the Drive North Texas Teen Driving Summit. In an effort spearheaded by The Allstate Foundation, students from Collin, Denton, Dallas and Tarrant counties will come for a day of education and empowerment. They will walk away with the tools they need to spread the word to their peers about how to drive in a way that protects the things they value most -- their friends, their cars, their fun and their futures.

Keep the Drive is a teen-to-teen movement designed to harness the power of peer influence to help teens change the way they think and act when they are in a car as a driver or passenger. The Frisco summit, hosted by the Center for Safe Communities and Schools, is one of more than 10 teen driving summits sponsored by The Allstate Foundation nationwide this year.

"The number one killer of teens doesn't have a trigger -- it has a steering wheel," says Rich Crist, Vice President of Allstate's Texas Region. "By hosting this Keep the Drive North Texas Summit, and others like it around the country, The Allstate Foundation wants to hand our nation's teenagers the keys to their own teen-led movement, and empower them to take on the number one killer of teens -- motor vehicle crashes."

Keep the Drive North Texas Teen Driving Summit will educate teen leaders on the value of smart driving, and help them develop action plans they can take back to their schools. Participating schools are also encouraged to apply for a $500 grant from The Allstate Foundation to help teen leaders implement their action plans, and spread the word about the importance of having the right attitudes and making good choices behind the wheel.

"Our goal is to put youth in the driver's seat of their lives, empowering them to make decisions based on the facts," says Ruby Moore, Event Coordinator and Student Representative for the Center for Safe Communities and Schools. "When youth make decisions for themselves, they are more likely to stick to their commitments and also share their choices with their friends. By investing in youth today, we are creating a safer tomorrow."

In 2005, The Allstate Foundation conducted a national survey of teen attitudes toward driving. The results were published in a publication called "Chronic: A Report on the State of Teen Driving." The study revealed the following teen attitudes and behaviors about driving:

-- Fifty-five percent of teens surveyed admitted to speeding

-- Seventeen percent of teens surveyed said speeding was fun

-- Nearly one out of four self-identified aggressive teen drivers (26 percent) reported. speeding by more than 20 miles an hour over the limit

-- Fifty-six percent said they make and answer phone calls while driving.

-- Forty-seven percent said passengers sometimes distract them

-- Twenty one percent said they have ridden in a car driven by a peer who had been drinking

-- Sixty-one percent said they take risks because they feel they are "good drivers who understand how cars work"

-- Twenty-seven percent say they take risks because they aren't "thinking about consequences at the moment"

"Keep the Drive isn't another driver's education class. It's not about scare tactics and death, clueless adults or finger pointing," explains Crist. "We know teens are tired of being talked at when it comes to driving. Keep the Drive is about getting teens to do the talking to each other."

Participating in the Keep the Drive North Texas Teen Driving Summit will be Lindsey Adams, North Texas' own National Champion Kart Racer; Pat Hickman, District Traffic Safety Specialist for the Texas Department of Transportation; Jennifer Steele and Ruby Moore, Center for Safe Communities and Schools; and Shannon Pickard, youth motivational speaker.

The Center for Safe Communities and Schools (CSCS), located at Texas State University-San Marcos, is a multi-division training center focused on health and safety issues for all Texans with an emphasis on youth involvement and leadership.

The Allstate Foundation is an independent, charitable organization made possible by subsidiaries of The Allstate Corporation. The Allstate Foundation sponsors community initiatives to promote "safe and vital communities;" "tolerance, inclusion, and diversity;" and "economic empowerment." The Allstate Foundation believes in the financial potential of every individual and in helping America's families achieve their American dream.