Observing National Teen Driver Safety Week, representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), State Police, Department of Education, and local education and law enforcement representatives held a forum to call attention to teen driver safety and share important information directly with teen drivers.
“Driving a car requires experience, skill, and undivided attention,” Dr. Noe Ortega, Pennsylvania Department of Education secretary, said. “Driver education training programs are invaluable in preparing teenage drivers to get behind the wheel, keeping themselves, their passengers, and fellow drivers safe on the road.”
The forum was hosted at Cedar Cliff High School in New Cumberland. Students from Cedar Cliff and Red Land high schools attended and were allowed to ask the hosts questions.
A leading cause of death for teens is motor vehicle crashes. There were 82,066 crashes involving at least one 16-to-19-year-old driver in the state From 2016 to 2020. The crashes resulted in 530 fatalities.
Of those crashes, 7,490 involved improper or careless turning, 7,988 were from driver inexperience, 8,574 were caused by distracted driving, and 18,635 were the result of driving too fast for conditions, while 39,399 crashes included one or more of these factors.