The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) in New York is once again running its “No Empty Chair” teen driver safety initiative during the week of April 29 – May 3, 2019.
State and local law enforcement will participate in the week-long, multi-agency campaign. School Resource Officers, school administrators, local traffic safety partners and other community stakeholders are also encouraged to help raise awareness to ensure there are no empty chairs at prom and graduation this season.
Law enforcement officers will increase their presence in the vicinity of high schools throughout the campaign and are being urged to be vigilant for Graduated Driving License (GDL) violations. The GDL law is designed to provide time for young people to gain crucial driving experience in different traffic situations.
Patrols will focus on a different traffic safety threat on each day of the week while still enforcing all other vehicle and traffic laws. The target dates are as follows:
Monday, April 29 – Speeding in School Zones
Tuesday, April 30 – Seatbelts and Child Restraints
Wednesday, May 1 – Cell Phone Use and Texting
Thursday, May 2 – Operation SafeStop
Friday, May 3 – Underage Drinking and Impaired Driving
Educational materials to help promote the No Empty Chaircampaign can be found in the GTSC Young Driver Toolkit.
