[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12535]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          DANGERS ON THE ROAD

  (Mr. BISHOP of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the coming 
Independence Day holiday, I note with sadness that more American 
teenagers are killed in auto accidents over the July 4 weekend than any 
other time of the year. From 1995 to 2006, over 76,000 Americans 
between 15 and 20 years of age died in motor vehicle crashes, an 
average of 122 teenage deaths per week.
  Parents can't always be in the passenger seat; but we, as a Nation, 
can help our teens drive safely through graduated driver's license 
programs which allow young drivers time to develop their skill and road 
awareness before they receive a full unrestricted license. Graduated 
driver's license programs save lives. California saw a 40 percent drop 
in passenger deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving 16-
year-old drivers in the first 3 years after adopting a graduated 
driver's license program, and other States have seen similar results.
  I have introduced bipartisan legislation that would require States to 
introduce graduated driver's licenses informed by best practices from 
existing State programs, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I also 
urge all Americans, especially teenagers, to make an effort to drive 
safely this weekend.

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