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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Phyllis Mundy
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New teen driving law takes effect Dec. 27
HARRISBURG, Dec. 9 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne, is reminding area parents and young drivers that new rules for teen drivers in Pennsylvania go into effect on Dec. 27.
"These new rules are intended to make sure teen drivers who get behind the wheel have more experience, are less distracted and are safer drivers who are less likely to injure or kill themselves or someone else on the road," Mundy said.
Mundy, who worked to pass Pennsylvania's updated Junior Driver Law in October, said the most significant provisions in the updated law include:
· Teens are restricted to having a single non-family passenger in the car during their first six months of driving.
· Teen permit holders must have 65 hours of supervised behind-the-wheel training, up from the previous 50 hours. Ten of those hours must be at night, and five must be in inclement weather.
· Failure to wear a seatbelt is changed to a primary offense for drivers and passengers under 18, meaning the driver can be pulled over solely for that violation. The fine is $75.
"I believe this new law will make our roads safer," Mundy said. "Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, and studies show that the chances of a 16-year-old dying in a vehicle crash increase significantly with each new passenger added to the vehicle he or she is driving."
For instance, a 16-year-old driving with one teen passenger is almost 40 percent more likely to die in a crash than if he were driving alone. Adding another teen passenger increases those chances by 86 percent and two passengers raises the likelihood by 182 percent.
Teen drivers also increase the risk for other drivers and passengers on the road, Mundy said. In crashes involving teen drivers, two other individuals are killed for every teen driver killed. From 2009 to 2010, fatalities in Pennsylvania in crashes involving 16- or 17-year-old drivers increased by 43 percent.
Mundy said more information about the new teen driver rules is available online at the state Department of Transportation website at www.dot.state.pa.us.
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