‘No Empty Chair Campaign’ focuses on safe teen driving
Press Release, Orleans County Sheriff Chris Bourke
The “No Empty Chair” teen driving safety education and enforcement campaign raises awareness of highway dangers in the hope there will be no empty chairs during prom and graduation season.
In New York State in 2020, there were 98 fatal crashes and 10,606 personal injury crashes with drivers between the ages of 16-20, according to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research Data.
Multiple contributing factors in teen crashes included: unsafe speed, following too closely, driver inattention/distraction, failure to yield right of way, driver inexperience and underage drinking.
This year, the No Empty Chair Campaign runs from April 25-29. The Orleans County Sheriff’s deputies are joining forces with law enforcement throughout the state to step up enforcement near area high schools, gearing extra attention for speeding in school zones, cell phone use, underage drinking and impaired driving along with promoting school bus safety.
