​Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Steel Valley High School partnered to promote safe driving during Highway Safety Law Awareness Week, urging young drivers to put safety first.

This week marks Pennsylvania's Highway Safety Law Awareness Week, which runs from February 20-26. The purpose of this week is to highlight laws, which are often forgotten or overlooked by motorists. PennDOT highlights these laws to reduce crashes and save lives.

Steel Valley High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter decorated car coloring pages and individually wrote what being a safe driver means to them. The students made a banner out of the coloring sheets, which will be displayed in the school and shared with their peers.

The activity serves as a reminder to the students, who either have their license or will soon be eligible, to follow highway laws and generally practice safe behaviors behind the wheel. Teaching novice drivers safe driving practices early will hopefully allow them to build habits that follow them throughout their lives.

In Pennsylvania, 2021 preliminary data shows deaths on our roadways increased by as much as 10 percent, including increases in fatalities in speeding crashes, distracted driving crashes, crashes involving a 16- or 17-year-old driver, as well as unrestrained fatalities.

This year's featured safety laws include:

• Distracted Driving: Pennsylvania's Texting-While-Driving Ban prohibits as a primary offense any driver from using an Interactive Wireless Communication Device (IWCD) to send, read or write a text-based communication while his or her vehicle is in motion.

• Seat Belts: Pennsylvania law requires any occupant younger than 18 to buckle up when riding in a vehicle, as well as drivers and front-seat passengers. Children under the age of two must be secured in a rear-facing car seat, and children under the age of four must be restrained in an approved child safety seat. Children must ride in a booster seat until their eighth birthday.

• Impaired Driving: Pennsylvania law prohibits individuals from driving while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. Penalties for driving while impaired depend on the individual's level of impairment and prior offenses and can include up to $10,000 in fines, up to five years in prison, up to 18 months license suspension, one year of ignition interlock, and more.

• Speeding: Pennsylvania law on speed restrictions requires motorists to drive at reasonable and prudent speeds for the current conditions. Drivers must drive at a safe and appropriate speed when approaching and crossing intersections, railroad grade crossings, when approaching and going around a curve, while approaching a hill crest, when traveling upon any narrow or winding roadway, and when special hazards exist with respect to pedestrians, other traffic, or weather or highway conditions.

• Pennsylvania's Young Driver Law: Pennsylvania licenses young drivers through a three-stage program, reflecting the driver's gradual progression in skill, experience, and decision-making ability. The law has proven effective in reducing crashes and fatalities for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Schools or groups interested in an in-person or virtual safe driver presentation can contact Yasmeen Manyisha at ymanyisha@pa.gov.

For more information, visit www.PennDOT.gov/safety.

PennDOT's media center offers resources for safety organizations, community groups, or others who share safety information with their stakeholders. Social-media-sized graphics highlighting topics such as seat belts, impaired driving and distracted driving can be found online in PennDOT's Media Center.

For regional updates, follow PennDOT on Twitter and join the Greater Pittsburgh Area PennDOT Facebook group.

MEDIA CONTACT: Yasmeen Manyisha, 412-429-5044 

# # #