BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SR 9|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SR 9
Author: DeSaulnier (D)
Amended: 2/28/11
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
SUBJECT : California Teen Safe Driving Week
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution designates the week of March 6,
2011, as California Teen Safe Driving Week.
ANALYSIS : This resolution states:
1. 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.
2. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death
for teens in the United States accounting for more than
one in three deaths.
3. Per mile driven, teen drivers 16 to 19 years of age are
four times more likely to crash than older drivers.
4. In 2009, more than 3,000 teens in the United States 15
to 19 years of age were killed and more than 350,000
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were treated in emergency rooms for injuries suffered in
motor vehicle crashes.
5. Seventy-seven percent of the 16-year-old drivers killed
in motor vehicle crashes in California were at fault.
6. Seventy-five percent of all fatal teen collisions are
caused by reckless and distracted driving and
approximately 25 percent of the fatalities involve
alcohol and drugs.
7. Drivers who use handheld devices such as cell phones,
are four times more likely to get into crashes that
cause serious injury.
8. Thirty-four percent of teens 16 and 17 years of age who
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.
9. 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.
10.Approximately two-thirds of the deaths of teen
passengers 13 to 19 years of age occur when other teens
are driving.
11.One in three teen drivers are involved in motor vehicle
crashes during their first year of driving.
12.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.
13.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.
14.A manicurist is required to have 400 supervised hours
of training in order to get a license, but a teen driver
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needs only six hours of behind-the-wheel driving
experience supervised by a professional.
15.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.
16.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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
RJG:mw 3/3/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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