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NSC Applauds Pennsylvania Legislators Action to Improve Teen Driver Safety


national safety council

ITASCA, IL--October 25, 2011: The National Safety Council congratulates Pennsylvania state legislators on passage of House Bill 9, legislation that aims to reduce the risks of teens being involved in motor vehicle crashes. NSC extends its thanks to Gov. Tom Corbett for signing the law that limits the number of passengers in a car driven by a teen to one person younger than 18, excluding siblings, for the first 6 months after receiving their driver license.

“It also will reduce the $1.5 billion annual cost of teen driving crashes in Pennsylvania. After seven years of legislators working to establish a passenger limit in the state, we are thrilled to see this progress.”

The new law also requires parents to spend at least 65 hours behind the wheel with their teen during the learner's permit period to qualify their teen to earn a license -- 10 of those hours must include driving at night and in inclement weather.

"This law will help save the lives of Pennsylvania teens and others who share the roads with them," said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO. "It also will reduce the $1.5 billion annual cost of teen driving crashes in Pennsylvania. After seven years of legislators working to establish a passenger limit in the state, we are thrilled to see this progress."

The National Safety Council has worked for two years to support passage of this bill. Kent McElhattan, chairman of the NSC Board of Directors and former CEO of Pennsylvania-based Industrial Scientific Corporation, sent 140 letters to fellow CEOs in Pennsylvania urging them to contact state legislators to show their support for improved teen driving laws.

"Businesses pay a significant portion of the costs associated with teen car crashes. When a teen is injured or killed in a crash, it is the parents' employer, in many cases, that pays the financial costs in lost productivity of the parent and in health care benefits costs," says McElhattan. "For businesses to get involved with improving teen driver safety is good business sense, but more importantly, it's the right thing to do."

About the National Safety Council

Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public to make an impact where the most preventable injuries and deaths occur, in areas such as distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety and beyond the workplace, particularly in and near our homes.

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