California has more than 800,000 licensed teenage drivers, thousands of whom are involved in deadly or injury-causing collisions each year.
In order to try to address that issue, California Highway Patrol has received a $950,000 federal grant to support its Teen Distracted Driving program.
The education program features CHP officers and traffic safety advocates in school and community events throughout California to address the rising concern of distracted driving.
The beginning of the year-long campaign coincides with National Teen Driver Safety Week, happening from Oct. 20-26.
Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for teenagers aged 16 to 19 in the U.S., according to the CHP.
“Teens face an even greater risk of crashing due to the lethal combination of inexperience and distraction, which can lead to lifelong consequences,” Sean Duryee, CHP commissioner, said in a news release.
Through a combination of education and enforcement, the CHP is committed to raising awareness among teenage drivers, he said. The CHP wants to ensure that teens, “understand the critical importance of giving their full attention to driving.”
From Oct. 1, 2021 through the end of September of 2022, 195 teenagers were involved in a crash related to a distraction, CHP said in a statement.
Common distractions include an interaction with a passenger or pet, phones, eating, smoking, grooming, reading and listening to the radio.
The funding for the program was from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
