Allstate opens cautionary teen driving display in Washington, D.C.

Urges Congress to pass Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection (STANDUP) Act

Jun. 23, 2009 Washington, D.C. -- Local teenagers, Montgomery County Police Captain Tom Didone and Members of Congress joined Allstate today to unveil its live display featuring nearly 5,000 key chains, which represent the alarming number of teens who die each year in teen-related car crashes.

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"With schools letting out for the summer, this is an important time to remind both teenagers and parents that the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is the deadliest timeframe of the year for teenagers behind the wheel," said Dean Pappas, Allstate assistant vice president for federal affairs. "We hope today's event reminds parents and teens to have safe driving discussions on topics, such as wearing seatbelts and not texting or talking on cell phones while driving."

The Allstate Foundation recently conducted a survey of young drivers with the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), which found that despite the recognition of danger, 83 percent of teenagers admit that they talk on a cell phone while driving, and 68 percent admit to texting while driving.

"Teen drivers need to know it doesn't matter what you did yesterday, it matters what you do today and tomorrow," said Captain Didone. "As my family learned, nobody is immune and one mistake can have tragic results."

Captain Didone is a second-generation police officer who has been with the Montgomery County, Md. Police Department since 1986. His 15-year-old son, Ryan, was killed when a car he was riding in veered off the road and struck a tree not far from Damascus High School. According to reports, Ryan was not wearing his seat belt. Captain Didone spends his time today educating teenagers about the importance of staying safe on the road.

The new display is designed to raise awareness of safe teen driving and The Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection (STANDUP) Act (H.R. 1895). The act would create federal graduated driver licensing (GDL) standards that reflect sound research on how best to reduce teen driving crashes. The act is sponsored by Reps. Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Michael Castle (R-DE) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and backed by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) in the U.S. Senate.

"We have to do everything possible to prepare teenagers to drive," said Pappas. "With an ounce of prevention and education today, we can save thousands of teenagers' lives tomorrow."

Results from the Allstate Foundation/NOYS survey also revealed that nearly 40 percent of teens have heard about graduated driver licensing (GDL), but only 23 percent say their parents know their state's GDL laws. Parents who do enforce GDL, however, have a big impact - fewer of their sons and daughters say they've been ticketed (15 percent vs. 23 percent) and fewer have come close to being in a collision (56 percent vs. 72 percent).

"Allstate supports the STANDUP Act because we are committed to reducing teen fatalities on our nation's roads," Pappas added. "Recent findings about dangerous teen driving only underscore the need for Congress and communities across the United States to address this public health risk."

For additional tools and resources on protecting teen drivers, including an interactive parent-teen driving contract, visit www.allstate.com/teen. For additional information on graduated driver licensing visit www.saferoads4teens.org.

Source: The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL)