BUFFALO, N.Y., August 28, 2009 – Governor David Paterson yesterday signed new legislation into law that strengthens the current graduated driver licensing requirements for teen drivers and bans text messaging and the use of other electronic devices for drivers of all ages. AAA strongly supported and advocated for the new legislation.

The new graduated driver licensing (GDL) system bans teens from using any portable electronic devices - hand-held or otherwise, reduces the number of non-family passengers to one, and increases mandatory in-car practice from 20 to 50 hours of certified, supervised driving, with at least 15 of hours being at night. Under the new law, teens under the age of 18 will also be required to hold a learner’s permit for six months before they can obtain a junior license.

“Based on miles driven, teenagers are involved in four times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers,” said Tom Chestnut, President/CEO of AAA Western and Central New York. “Teens drive the least of any age group, but crash the most, making this new law vital to increasing safety on our roads.”

Young-driver crashes impact more than just teen drivers. A 2009 analysis of teen crashes completed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that nearly two-thirds of the people killed in teen crashes were people other than the teen drivers themselves. The GDL portion of the law will take effect in six months.

The same law also imposes a texting while driving ban, effective November 1, which prohibits all drivers from sending a text message, email, or other electronic communication via cell phone or other wireless device while driving, making New York the 18th state to implement such a ban. Fines for the secondary offense can be as high as $150.

In a recent culture survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 87 percent of respondents rated texting or e-mailing while driving as a very serious threat, ranked almost even with drunk driving. In the same survey, 95 percent of drivers felt that texting or emailing behind the wheel is an unacceptable behavior, yet 21 percent admitted to text messaging while driving. A recent government-funded study of truck drivers, conducted by Virginia Tech, found that crash risk increases by 23 times when a driver texts while driving.

As Upstate New York’s largest member services organization, AAA provides nearly 880,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive related services. Since its founding in 1900, AAA has been a leading advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. Visit AAA at www.AAA.com.