Starting early in the last week of April, Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. announced that the Teen Traffic Safety Program will be making rounds in the local high schools. This is to ensure that the number of youths who will be aware that traffic safety practices can save lives will increase.

In the same program last year by the Department of Traffic Safety, along with its government and community partners were able to reach out to at least 4000 teens. The goal for this year is to bump up that number a little more.

"We try to teach the message every year, and we keep coming back at our young drivers every year, because the message we have given them is one that could help avert an accident and save a life. We want to send a strong message that reminds young people that getting behind the wheel is serious business, and that we want them to stay safe," Picente said.

The presentation will include a DWI Traffic Safety Simulator that will allow students to safely experience firsthand the effects of driving while intoxicated. Also included is the PEERS simulator, which is a driving experience that allows students to see, hear and feel the experience of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

The New York State Police will also be aiding the effort by providing the Roll-over simulator and Seat Belt Convincer. A representative from the state DOT will also be providing a presentation on “Work Zone” driving safety, making this a complete teen driving safety program.

The schools and dates of the visits are as follows:

• Monday, April 25, at Westmoreland High School
• Wednesday, April 27, at Clinton High School
• Thursday, April 28, at VVS High School
• Friday, April 29, at Oriskany High School
• Monday, May 2, at Proctor High School
• Tuesday, May 3, at RFA High School
• Wednesday, May 4, at Holland Patent High School
• Thursday, May 5, at Whitesboro High School

Labels: dwi, teen driver safety, teen drivers

Another layer of New York's effective way of keeping teen drivers is TEENS (Teen Electronic Event Notification Service). This handy service is free, voluntary and offered by the state’s DMV for parents or guardians of teen drivers who are minors.

The service can be easily applied for via personal visit, mail, or online when the teen driver applies for a driver permit or non-driver ID. (http://www.dmv.ny.gov/mydmv.htm)

How it works is, whenever that teen driver is involved in a vehicular crash, a moving traffic violation or suspension/revocation of permit, the parent or guardian will receive notification by mail or opt-in for email.

Currently, this service has more than 12,700 enrollees statewide, and helps parents or guardians monitor their teen's driving habits. This is among many of the offerings that the state of New York brings to keep teen drivers safe, and parents sleeping soundly.

Learn more about driver safety and defensive driving courses at www.NewYorkDefensiveDrivingNow.com.

Labels: driver, permit, teen driver safety, teen drivers, teens, traffic violation, vehicular crash

According to a report (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5941a2.htm) by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fatalities among drivers age 16-17 are the lowest in New York and New Jersey.

The reason for this is simple: New York and New Jersey both have rigorous requirements for their licensing/graduated driver's license programs, including passenger restrictions and limited night time driving. The fatality rate for teen drivers age 16-17 for New York and New Jersey is roughly 10 per 100,000 people that age, compared to Wyoming, which averages to 60 per 100,000.

What does this all mean? It means that graduated driver's licensing programs along with adequate driver education works. Though teens in these states may have learner's permit and driver's license restrictions, what’s clear is: the stages of a GDL program will only give new drivers more time to prepare to become safe drivers in the future.

Learn more about Graduated Driver Licensing Laws: A Comparison

Labels: driver's license, gdl law, new york gdl laws, teen drivers

On August 14, 2010 legislation for a new teen driving law went into effect. The new state law was passed to improve driver training and overall highway safety. The new law increases the minimum amount of supervised training required before a new driver can apply for a driver’s license. The law now requires that all driver license applicants under the age of 18 are required to submit proof of having completed the minimum of 50 hours supervised driving. Additionally, 15 of those hours must be nighttime driving. This law now applies to all drivers under 18 whether they have taken a drivers education course or not. Prior to the change, those who took drivers education courses were exempt from the minimum hours of driving requirement.

Additional supervised driver training is necessary because driver education courses usually provide teens with approximately 6 hours of driving time and most of the courses do not provide any nighttime driving. The DMV believed that the young drivers who benefit from driver education could also benefit from the 50 hours of supervised driving.

On September 1, 2010 another new law goes into effect. This law states that all drivers under 18 may not have any more than one non-family member under 21 as a passenger. Under legislation that went into effect February 22, 2010 this rule only applied to drivers who obtained their license on or after February 22. This change subjects all junior license and permit holders to the passenger restrictions regardless of when the license or permit was issued. By subjecting everyone to the restrictions it will help promote highway safety and help diminish the problems the different limitations caused for law enforcement personnel.

In recent years, New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles and the Governor’s Traffic and Safety Committee have been on the forefront of developing new ways to educate teenage drivers. The DMV Commissioner created the Office of the Young Driver in 2008 to address the issues facing new drivers. In May 2010, New York State launched another important initiative to help address young drivers' issues. The Driver Education Research and Innovation Center (DERIC) is managed by Health Research Inc. The goal of DERIC is to develop, text, and execute a dynamic Driver Education program that will dramatically reduce the number of crashes involving young drivers.

Young drivers represent 12% of all drivers and somehow, are accountable for 20% of drivers involved in crashes. Sixteen and 17-year-olds are three times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers of any other age. In an effort to lower statistics like those, New York Teen Driving Laws are always changing and their driver education programs are evolving.

Labels: driver education, driver training, teen drivers