Bill Text: CA SR9 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relative to California Teen Safe Driving Week

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-03 - Read. Adopted. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 283.) [SR9 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SR9-Enrolled.html

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BILL NUMBER: SR 9	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  MARCH 3, 2011
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  FEBRUARY 19, 1950
	AMENDED IN SENATE  FEBRUARY 28, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator DeSaulnier

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2011

   Relative to California Teen Safe Driving Week


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Law enforcement and other first responders, teachers,
parents, and friends are all deeply impacted by the loss of teens
from motor vehicle crashes on California's roadways; and
   WHEREAS, Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for
teens in the United States accounting for more than one in three
deaths; and
   WHEREAS, Per mile driven, teen drivers 16 to 19 years of age are
four times more likely to crash than older drivers; and
   WHEREAS, In 2009, more than 3,000 teens in the United States 15 to
19 years of age were killed and more than 350,000 were treated in
emergency rooms for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes; and
   WHEREAS, Seventy-seven percent of the 16-year-old drivers killed
in motor vehicle crashes in California were at fault; and
   WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of all fatal teen collisions are
caused by reckless and distracted driving and about 25 percent of the
fatalities involve alcohol and drugs; and
   WHEREAS, Drivers who use handheld devices, such as cell phones,
are four times more likely to get into crashes that cause serious
injury; and
   WHEREAS, Thirty-four percent of teens 16 and 17 years of age say
they have texted while driving and 48 percent of all teens 12 to 17
years of age say they have been in a car when the driver was texting;
and
   WHEREAS, Despite the fact that California has the highest rate of
seatbelt usage in the nation, 37 percent of the 16-year-old
passengers who died in motor vehicle crashes in California were not
wearing seatbelts; and
   WHEREAS, Approximately two-thirds of the deaths of teen passengers
13 to 19 years of age occur when other teens are driving; and
   WHEREAS, One in three teen drivers are involved in motor vehicle
crashes during their first year of driving; and
   WHEREAS, There is no in-car driver training in California's high
schools and although driver's education is required in California's
public school curriculum, only about one-third of the high schools
actually offer it due to budget and staff limitations; and
   WHEREAS, A 16-year-old soccer player has had about 1,500 hours of
coached soccer practice, but only 50 hours of driving practice before
getting his or her license; and
   WHEREAS, A manicurist is required to have 400 supervised hours of
training in order to get a license, but a teen driver needs only six
hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience supervised by a
professional; and
   WHEREAS, It is necessary to raise awareness; reach teens, parents,
and teachers; and influence change in risky driving behavior in
order to reduce the number of teens killed on California's roadways
each year; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the week
of March 6, 2011, be declared "California Teen Safe Driving Week";
and be it further
   Resolved, That with the help of law enforcement organizations,
teachers, parents, students, and the Impact Teen Drivers program, a
nonprofit organization aimed at stopping reckless and distracted teen
driving, the State of California will observe the week of March 6,
2011, with appropriate activities that promote the practice of safe
driving among teen drivers.