The New York State Police announce participation in a week-long, multi-agency, statewide traffic safety campaign aimed at minimizing crashes involving teen drivers.
“The Empty Chair” teen driving safety campaign will start on Monday, April 20, 2015 and run through Friday, April 24, 2015.
Nearly every year, communities across New York State experience the tragic deaths of young high school students in traffic crashes just prior to graduation.
The New York State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico said, “We want to keep teens safe, especially during this time of year. We want our young people to enjoy their high school days and be able to graduate and start the next step of their lives. I urge everyone to please wear your seat belt, slow down, and put your cell phones away while behind the wheel. Together, we can keep our roadways safe and avoid a tragedy.”
In an effort to reduce these tragedies, the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) launched this campaign in 2014. The empty chair symbolizes the missing high school senior on graduation day.
This year, the State Police and other participating agencies are working to limit the number of accidents during graduation season.
The campaign will target specific laws during the campaign, while also enforcing all other vehicle and traffic laws. The targets dates are as follows:
Monday, April 20, 2015 – Speeding in school zones
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 – Seatbelt use and child restraints
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 – Cell phone use and texting
Thursday, April 23, 2015 – Graduated driver license provisions
Friday, April 24, 2015 – Underage drinking and impaired driving
During the campaign, Troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles as part of the operation. The CITE vehicles allow Troopers to more easily identify motorists who are not following the traffic laws. CITE vehicles also allows the Trooper to better observe distracted driving violations. These vehicles blend in with every day traffic but are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.
The following points will be on your license if convicted of the following:
Speeding - MPH over speed limit not indicated- 3
Speeding 1 - 10 MPH over speed limit- 3
Speeding 11 - 20 MPH over speed limit- 4
Speeding 21 - 30 MPH over speed limit- 6
Speeding 31 - 40 MPH over speed limit- 8
Speeding More than 40 MPH over speed limit- 11
Improper cell phone use- 5
No seat belt under age of 16- 3
Child safety seat violations- 3